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1 



COAL AND COAL OIL; 

OR, 

THE GEOLOGY OF THE EAKTH. 

BEING A POPULAR DESCRIPTION OF 




MINERALS AND MINERAL COMBUSTIBLES. 



BY ELI ;i^OWEN. 

PROFESSOR OP GEOLOGY. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, 
306 CHESTNUT STREET. 



5:3 1^---^ 



eSTATS OF 

THSms EWINO Iff 

pCTtfelR 23, r947 

jne UfiBARY OF CONGRESS 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by 
ELI BOWEN, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for tb« 

Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



PHILADELPHIA : 
STERBOTYPES BY S. A. OEORGB. 



^1 



yio 



/^ 



PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 



About seven years ago, after having devoted a long time to 
the investigation of the paleontology of the coal measures, and 
to mineral or fossil combustibles generally, both in their econ- 
omic and philosophical aspect, I wrote most of the matter of 
the present work, under the title of the "Physical History of 
the Earth." As the most important feature of the book, I 
discussed at length the peculiar conclusions at which I had 
arrived, as the result of my long-continued investigations, in 
reference to the origin and manner of deposition of these valua- 
ble substances. The first edition of the book was rapidly ex- 
hausted ; but for a year or more past its publication has been 
suppressed, to enable me to avail myself of a convenient time 
to revise it, and to make some important changes and additions. 
The book had created a very favorable impression on those who 
read it, and was warmly commended by the press ; and since 
the present interest in coal and coal oil manifested itself, an 
unmistakable demand for it has been evinced all over the 
country. I had intended, at one time, to extract from it that 
portion treating of the phenomena of mineral combustible?, 
and offer it to the public in a separate volume ; but on reflec- 
tion, I deemed it more expedient to enlarge its scope and in- 
corporate whatever additional remarks I had to offer in tha 

(Hi) 



IV PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 

present form — only venturing a prefix to the title which will 
express the most important feature of the work, and commend 
it more directly to those who now appear foremost to obtain it. 

Many persons will doubtless feel some disappointment that, 
in speaking of coal and coal oil, I have in no instance referred 
to particular districts or localities. The phenomena which I 
discuss are, however, so widely diffused over the earth, that 
I could hardly have singled out any particular region, in the 
present excited and speculative feeling of our people, without 
betraying a partiality which would have been unjust to my 
character as a writer, and to friends and readers having rival 
interests elsewhere. 

I have dealt with the subject only as a natural phenomenon. 
I myself own no stock in any company, and have no special 
sympathy, at this writing, with any particular oil or coal dis- 
trict. Yery respectfully, 

Eli Bowen. 
Valencia, SchuyVicill County, Pa. 

January 20th, 1865. 



1 



BEEVIAEY OF THE AKGUMENT 

{For a Complete Alphabetical Index of Contents, seepage 489.) 



The First Day. — Description of the first day by Moses ; the 
magnitude of the subject considered ; impossibility of conceiving 
& beginning or an end ; vanity of attempts to explore ante- 
mundane phenomena, but our duty to investigate those which 
immediately concern and surround us ; man the servant of God, 
to whom he has confided tne custody of his creatures ; the 
antiquity of the earth ; the meaning of the word Day — it contem- 
plates circles of time, or lengthened cosmogonal eras ; origin of 
calendar time— impossibility of the existence of solar or calen- 
dar days during the earliest stages of creation ; difi'erences of 
calendar days among different nations ; the word day merely 
symbolically employed by Moses — is frequently used to express 
lengthened periods ; harmony among the original promulgators 
of the divine word ; — discord and misinterpretations among 
modern Christians the result of a neglect of Nature's laws ; the 
Bible not addressed to one age, but to the people of all time — 
its truths manifested with the advance of our knowledge of 
Nature ; the perversions of Infidelity, and the negligence of the 
Church ; Religion should be based on Nature ; God the creatiu- 
of Nature and of Law; the Church errs externally, not iu- 
ternally ; the spirit right, but its policy wrong — pride the ba.si;j 
of its inefficiency — cause for alarm for its ultimate safety ; want 
of parallelism or conformable order in stratification proof of 
the antiquity of the earth ; correspondence of the Mosaic days 
with cosmogonal eras ; proof of the prophetic intelligence of 
Moses ; the laws of paleontology — progressive creation, but not 

(3) 



4 BREVIARY OF THE ARGUMENT. 

of development ; simultaneous creation disproved ; conciseness 
of the Mosaic narrative ; tlie antiquity of the earth established 
hy Astronomy ; distance of the planets from the sun ; the im- 
mensity of space, and of the universe ; inability of the mind to 
comprehend distance, time, or magnitude ; vision and mind 
alike circumscribed ; diffusion of light through space ; the 
Milky Way ; vast extent of time required for the transmission 
of stellar light ; Telescopic observations of Herschell ; econom- 
ical value of astronomical discoveries — calculations of eclipses, 
comets, and sidereal phenomena — Halley's comet ; the seasons, 
precession of the equinoxes, the almanac ; value of astronomy 
to marine navigation ; the discovery of Neptune by Leverrier — 
wonders of mathematical demonstration ; the origin of worlds ; 
the Nebular hypothesis explained ; resolution of nebula into 
stellar bodies no proof of weakness in the theory ; Nebula9 
abounding as indepei went bodies in space; worlds off-shoots 
from the sun ; the planets all move in one direction only ; their 
globular form ; law controls all their movements ; speciality of 
forms ; the law of intermediate distance among the planets ; the 
law of progressive density ; the law of time in their revolutions 
around the sun ; the former relation of the sun to other sys- 
tems ; original unity of worlds, embodied in God ; his volition 
occasioned diffusion ; the propensity to return into unity defined 
as gravitation; Moses describing cosmogonal phenomena in 
tableaux ; worlds within worlds ; life inherent in matter ; worlds 
the mere compounds of aggregate atoms, united by affinity; 
Seers of ancient Grreece ; the Mosaic pictures consistent with 
cosmogonal facts ; the Nebular hypothesis foreshadowed in 
Revelation ; light inherent in Nebulae ; the earth in embryo ; 
the interior heat ; conclusion, and quotation from Milton's 
"Paradise Lost." 

The Second Day. — The firmament, how produced ; the aqueous 
origin of the earth ; universality of water in earth, air, and 
animals ; origin of rocks from interior calorific sublimation ; 
chemical dissolution of water ; evaporation of hydrogen, and its 
expansion into the dome-like firmament ; the Mosaic contrasted 
with the Grecian Cosmogony ; the concavity of the globe ; the 
earth-animal of Kepler ; original definition of the word firma- 
ment ; Moses in advance of all succeeding ages ; modern ten- 
dency of science to the confirmation of his Cosmogony ; the birth 



BREVIARY OP THE ARGUMENT. 5 

of animated Nature ; terrific volcanic eruptions : crystalline and 
Plutonic rocks the solid base of the earth ; emergence of volcanic 
reefs and islands ; distribution of the primitive rocks in Asia, 
Europe, Africa, and America ; mineral characters and varieties 
of the volcanic rocks ; concluding remarks ; extract from Mil- 
ton's "Paradise Lost.*' 

Thb Third Dat. — Appearance of dry land; commencement 
of vegetable life ; the Metamorphic rocks, their character, 
position, and origin ; first appearance of limestone ; the Cam- 
brian, Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous systems ; classi- 
fication of Geologists ; — priority of animal over vegetable life 
denied ; the igneous or volcanic rocks referred to ; the Meta- 
morphic rocks the basis of the Paleozoic formation ; propensity 
to introduce new words in geological nomenclature deprecated 
— a case in point ; the Geological Report of Pennsylvania ; 
rocks of the Metamorphic group described ; mineral veins ; 
copper and iron of Lake Superior ; iron of Pilot Knob, Cornwall, 
and Lake Champlain ; fossiliferous nature of the Metamorphic 
rocks ; the Silurian rocks, fossils and distribution of ; Silurian 
sandstones of the west ; Niagara Falls, description of, age, 
retrogression, discovery of ; the St. Clair fiats ; emergence of 
the bottom of Lakes ; formation of conglomerate rocks ; the 
Devonian rocks described — old Red Sandstone — Hugh Miller ; 
distribution of old Red Sandstone ; America properly the old 
world ; the Andes, Rocky mountains, and volcanic peaks ; coal 
basins of Texas, of the Missouri, the Illinois, Michigan, the 
Alleghany, Rhode Island, British Provinces ; formation of 
conglomerate and sandstone ; character of the Devonian coal 
Lakes ; limestone generally absent ; depth of the northwest 
lakes ; gulf of the ancient sea in the south-west ; the drainage 
of the land in that direction ; vegetation of the Metamorphic 
era ; the Potsdam Sandstone ; identity of origin of various 
combustibles ; cosmopolitan distribution of coal ; no organs of i 
fructification in the ancient grasses — their spontaneous develop- 
ment ; geological features of the coal basin of Rhode Island ; 
extraordinary disturbance, coal graduating into plumbago, 
graphite ; British lustre ; Metamorphic coal ; anthracite of 
France and Scandinavia ; number of fossil species of vegetation ; 
botanical systems of classification described ; description of the 
fossils of the coal formation — Ferns — Lycopodiaceae — Lepido- 



6 BREVIARY OP THE ARGUMllNT. 

dendria — Sigillaria — Lycopodites — Ulodendron — Volkmania— 
Carpolites — Flabellaria — Noggeratliia— Asterophyllites — Annu- 
laria — Stigmaria — Coniferae— coal plants in general; resinous 
cliaracter of the vegetation — contemplation of Paleontology ; 
the formation of coal— the peat-bog theory ; estuary or drift 
theory ; diflQ.culties suggested ; fossil trees in an erect posi- 
tion ; theory of various Gleologists — Hawkshaw, Buckland, 
Lyell, Rogers — objections suggested to all; fossils in coal9 an 
error corrected; bark of fossil trees no^ coal — chemical 
nature of anthracite ; composition of vegetation ; no fruits, 
grains, nuts, or esculents in the ancient earth ; coniferous 
trees furnished the bulk of the coal ; description of existing 
coniferous trees; the wild pine — the Corsican pine — the 
Cluster pine — the Siberian pine — the Norway pine — Ameri- 
can pines— red, pitch, white pines — the spruce — the silver 
fir — various other pines and firs — the larch — the cedar of 
Lebanon — the yew— the cypress — the juniper: — the tallow 
tree, etc., transmission of the ancient seeds of vegetation — 
specific vegetation of geological eras — diversity of vegetation 
accounted for — distilling tar and, turpentine, process described ; 
deposition of the coal described ; geographical relations of the 
northerly lake^; character of the coal forests ; extraordinary 
development of vegetation ; nature of the ancient climate ; 
large content of carbonic acid ; fogs, mists, and radiated heat ; 
the forests and earth converted into vast tar pits — the ground 
impregnated with liquid resin — accumulation of vegetable resin 
in the lakes — formation of seams of coal — overflow of the lakes 
— rubbish of the forests borne away — parallel overflows of the 
Mississippi — deposition of sediment over the coal — faults in 
coal veins explained— invasion of the sea — its ancient position 
to the coal basins — deposits of asphalt, chapapote, bitumen, 
etc., described — pitch lake of Trinidad — chapapote of Cuba — 
asphalt of New Brunswick — petroleum — oil springs — gas 
springs — a river on fire— intimate relation between coal and 
pitch — identity of origin — chemical transformations of vegeta- 
tion into coal — mistaken inferences of geologists — a difficulty 
and false assumption explained — professional fallacy — the 
world controlled too much by mere ostensible learning— nature 
of Lignite or brown coal; amber, its origin; injecting railway 
cross-ties ; conversion of bituminous into anthracite coal — a 



BREVIARY OP THE. ABGUMENT. 7 

mistake corrected — theory of Rogers and Lyell ; microscopic in- 
vestigations — vegetable structure of coal denied — fire-damp 
explosions in mines — the Davy lamp — antiquity of the earth 
illustrated — geographical distribution of coal — concluding re- 
marks—Milton's "Third Day." 

The Fourth Day. — The description of Moses ; the light of the 
sun, moon, and stars appears for the first time, in full efl'ulgence, 
the sun appointed to rule over the day, and with the light of the 
planets, to be for signs and seasons, days and years ; misappre- 
hension of the language of Moses ; confirmation of the peculiar 
atmosphere of the coal era ; the earth previously enveloped in 
mists and fogs ; effect of such climate on vegetation and animals ; 
elevation of mountain chains ; the Alleghfeies ; diversification 
and refrigeration of the climate of the earth ; the Mosaic cosmo- 
gony in advance of the Grecian philosophers ; the Ptolemaic as- 
tronomy — the earth the supposed centre of the planetary sys- 
tem ; discoveries and mathematical demonstrations of Coperni- 
cus ; his laws described ; false views of Cosmogony entertained 
by the Church ; Tycho Brahe ; laws of Kepler described ; dis- 
covery of the Telescope ; Galileo, and his discoveries ; expan- 
sion of the knowledge of the universe ; Sir Isaac Newton ; 
discovery of the law of universal gravitation ; description of 
gravitation ; effect of this discovery ; discoveries of the seven- 
teenth century, the wonders of the air and ocean ; the Gulf 
Stream of the Atlantic and its effect on climate ; the at- 
mosphere a great steam-engine ; the quantity of salt held 
in solution by the ocean ; currents of the air and ocean, 
how produced; weight of the atmosphere and the power it 
exerts ; the description of Moses proved correct by the on- 
ward advance of science, and the increased knowledge of 
Kature ; position of the Apostles to scientific dogmas ; eloquent 
extracts from Paul, the Apostle ; difference between spiritual 
and temporal contemplation of Nature ; position of the Bible 
as to systems of Science ; the Pleiades — accuracy of revelation ; 
the cosmogony of the book of Job ; opinion of Baron Humboldt ; 
extract from the Psalms ; the proof that Moses, in his dai/s, con- 
templated lengthened periods ; concluding remarks ; Milton's 
Fourth Day. 

The Fifth Day. — The waters bring forth abundantly the moving 
creature that hath life, and fowl of the air ; great whales ere- 



8 BREVIARY OP. THE ARGUMENT. 

ated ; the seas become filled witli animal life ; the four great 
divisions of animals ; the Radiata, MoUusca, and the Articulata 
described ; extent of animal life previous to the Tertiary 
era ; the Spongiaria, Polypifera, and Infusoria ; coral reefs ; 
wonders of the microscope ; fossil animalculae ; shells of Fora- 
menifera ; Echinodermata ; descriptions of Molluscan animals ; 
the Eucephalous and Acephalous classes ; table exhibiting the 
distribution of fossil molluscs in each formation, and also the 
species of existing molluscs ; the Articulata division ; Annelida, 
Cirrhipoda, Crustacea, Arachnida, Myriopoda, and Insecta ; table 
exhibiting the classes and characteristics of all insects ; descrip- 
tions of various insects ; the silk-worm and silk manufactures ; 
butterflies, bees, wasps, and ants ; governmental discipline ; 
grass-hoppers and locusts ; fallacy of the theory that animal 
preceded vegetable life ; animalculae in the juices of vegetation ; 
vegetation of the metamorphoric era ; vegetation the distin- 
guishing feature of the entire Paleozoic formation ; multiplicity 
of geological eras ; description of the Secondary formation or 
fifth day ; the new red sandstone ; salt springs, building stones ; 
fossil foot-prints of extinct animals ; the Cheirotherium, the La- 
byrinthodon, the Microlestes, the Thecodontosaurus, th-e Apa- 
teon, the Archegosaurus, the Sauropos primasvis ; diverse views 
of Geologists ; Lyell, Owen, King, Lea, Hitchcock, Humboldt, 
Rogers ; sun-cracks and rain-drops ; contradictions of the Bible ; 
the doubters met on their own ground ; the truth of revelation 
vindicated ; the existence of air breathing animals prior to the new 
red sandstone disproved; sun-cracks, ripple-marks, and rain- 
drops accounted for ; the non-luminous atmosphere of the coal 
period maintained ; absurdity of geological dogmas ; an origi- 
nal discovery ; the Sauropus moderni or what-is-it ? profes- 
sional jealousy ; economy of the Pennsylvania geological sur- 
vey ; discovery of the Cobham stone by Mr. Pickwick — the 
celebrated Pickwick controversy ; explanation of the origin of 
rain-drops and sun-cracks ; showers of sulphuric and carbonic 
acid ; extraordinary meteorological phenomenon ; credulity of 
the world ; its readiness to receive the most absurd theories 
under the name of science ; animals of the new red sandstone ; 
foot-prints of birds ; the reason of their early introduction upon 
the earth ; Prof. Hitchcock's classification of the extinct bird- 
tracks ; an inconvenience suggested ; classes of birds ; of 



BRKVIARY OP THE ARGUMENT. 9 

fishes ; of reptiles described ; bones of different animals ; the 
lias group of rocks ; alternations of animal life ; changes not 
development ; the Oolitic rock ; the Vestiges of Creation ; 
changes in the ancient types of fish ; a difficulty reconciled ; 
absence of whales in the Oolite accounted for ; supposed 
marsupial fossils ; the Wealdon strata — its fossils ; the Cre- 
taceous rocks described ; their origin and distribution ; Creta- 
ceous and Greensand of the United States ; review of the secon- 
dary formation — the era of marine life ; distribution of its 
strata ; The Mosaic description confirmed ; the fifth day of Mil- 
ton's *' Paradise Lost." 

The Sixth Day. — Land animals created ; first appearance of 
man — he is clothed with dominion over the earth and all its in- 
habitants ; man created in the image of God, and destined to 
increase and replenish the earth ; the sixth day of creation, as 
described by Moses ; the Tertiary formation described ; its 
fossils and geographical distribution ; its gradual passage into 
the Alluvium, or present geological era ; Nummulite rocks ; the 
London and Paris basins ; character of Tertiary rocks ; vegeta- 
tion of the Tertiary ; beds of brown coal and lignite ; insects, 
polyps, animalcules, and fishes ; the ancient and modern fishes ; 
progressive development and degradation of species disproved ; 
Hugh Miller ; fossils of whales ; their immense size ; etc ; 
peculiar significance of the language of Moses ; the Bible requires 
no apologies in its behalf ; the Tertiary pre-eminently the age 
of land animals ; classification of Mammalia ; the Diadelphian 
order ; pouched animals ; the Monadelphian order ; the Testacea ; 
the Ruminantia ; the Pachydermata ; the Edentata ; the Ro- 
dentia ; the Cheiroptera ; the Amphibia ; the Carnivora ; gene- 
ral description of the animal kingdom, terminating with the 
Quadrumana, and the Bimana ; the object of creation attained 
in man ; the marriage of Adam and Eve ; the celebration of the 
work of creation, and the dawn of the Sabbath. 

The Seventh Day, or Sabbath.— Description of Moses ; the 
heavens and the earth finished ; the seventh day sanctified ; 
no rain in the earlier epochs ; the basis of Christianity ; the 
mystery of Nature ; faith ; the trinity described ; the origin of 
worlds ; the rebellion of Satan ; the garden of Eden ; the fall 
of Adam ; and his punishment ; mtiu's position in relation 
to the Creator ; the immortality of sin ; the immaculate concep 



10 BREVIARY OF THE ARGUMENT. 

tion ; tlie divinity of Christ ; his character, motives, and doc- 
trines ; the triumph of man over sin ; history of the Adamite 
race ; the universality of the Noachian flood ; Cliristian doubters ; 
Noah's ark — its dimensions and capacity compared with the 
Great Eastern; speculations of Hugh Miller; estimates of Sir 
Walter Raleigh ; number of species of animals on the earth ; 
antediluvian giants ; young, not adult animals in the ark ; the 
arrangement of the animals in the ark ; effects of the flood — 
how produced ; the fountains of the deep broken up ; subterra- 
neous reservoirs of water ; mountain glaciers ; the Alps ; 
movement of avalanches ; icebergs off Newfoundland ; icebergs 
in mid-ocean ; character of icebergs ; erratic boulders and mo- 
raines ; Dr. Kane in the Arctic regions ; the great Humboldt 
glacier : primitive rocks, and fossil animals ; volcanic action in 
the polar regions ; the flood produced by the breaking up of 
glaciers ; rain generated ; universal volcanic eruptions ; river 
freshets ; universality of the flood proved ; submergence and 
elevation of continents and mountains ; folly of contradicting 
the express language of the Bible ; the universality of the flood 
denied, but yet established by geologists ; submergence of con- 
tinents explained ; the Bible vindicated ; fossils of the diluvium ; 
the Niagara River ; antiquity of the Mastodon ; the original 
seat of the antedilivian race; the saltness of the sea; objec- 
tions of Hugh Miller to the universality of the flood ; all 
natural laws are miracles ; insects in the ark ; peculiarities of 
insect fecundation and generation ; experiments of Messrs. 
Weeks and Crosse explained — spontaneous generation denied; 
fallacious positions of Hugh Miller — the tendency of his Recon- 
ciliation ; supposed impossibili'^y of accommodating all the 
animals in the ark; characteristio fauna of continents ; animals 
of South America different from the older continents ; analogy 
between the extinct and living species ; fallacious conclusions 
and inferences ; the extinct species destroyed by the flood and 
Jhe existing species preserved in the ark, including many now 
extinct ; the Mastodon, the Megatherium, the Glyptodon, etc., 
all modern ; evidences of the flood considered ; traditions of 
the Indians ; opinions of Mr. Jefferson ; the mounds of the West 
described ; works of art, inscriptions, and skeletons ; the golden 
anaglyphs of Chiriqui ; the Indians of Central America ; re- 
marks of Columbus ; the ruins of Yucatan, their Egyptian aspect ; 



BREVIAKY OF THE ARGUMENT. 11 

opinions of Stephens ; discovery of North America by tlie 
Northmen ; colonization of Massachusetts and New York ; 
America inhabited by white men in the ninth century ; remarks 
of Humboldt ; Behring's Straits ; the Aleutian islands ; proba- 
ble Asiatic origin of the Aborigines of America ; how they may 
have reached this continent ; the ancient Pelasgi of the Medi- 
terranean ; the Egyptian origin of American Aborigines ; the 
arts, religion, and civilization of the Egyptians ; their venera- 
tion for animals ; their religion affords the key to the introduc- 
tion of the animals of the old continents into America ; the dis- 
persion of the family of Noah ; superiority of the ancient rajces 
over those of the modern; the development of arts and civiliza- 
tion of description of the works of the Egyptians ; the pyramids ; 
the lake of Moeris, canals, palaces, etc.; their probable geo- 
graphical knowledge and commercial enterprise ; their coloni- 
zation of America; the unity of races ; opinion of Humboldt; 
the antiquity of American vegetation ; the animals of America ; 
succession of races of animals and of man ; the workings of 
Providence ; the seventh day or Sabbath ; an institution for the 
ease of creation ; the Sabbath of Nature ; extract from Leviticus ; 
the Sabbath founded in natural law ; chemistry of vegetable 
growth ; alternation of crops ; necessity of the Sabbath to man ; 
the Mosaic idea realized ; the harmony of mankind and creation ; 
man's mind god-like ; disquisition on the order of Nature ; the 
law of Nature the guide of human reason ; man the concen- 
trated essence of creation ; God the God of Nature ! 



COAL AND COAL OIL; 

OR, 

THE GEOLOGY OF THE EARTH. 



THE FIRST DAY— ASTRONOMICAL. 

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the 
earth was without form, and void ; and darkness was upon the face of the 
deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And 
God said, Let there be light; and there was light. 4 And God saw the 
light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And 
the evening and the morning were the first day. 

It is needless to remark, at the outset, that the subject 
which I propose to consider is the most interesting, com- 
prehensive, and universal in the whole range of intel- 
lectual grasp. The mysteries of creation, and the external 
objects surrounding and involving us, having engrossed 
the attention of mankind, more or less, for several thousand 
years, it may appear rash and vain in an individual like 
myself, to enter the field of investigation ; yet individuals 
like myself have an equal and co-ordinate interest in the 
subject with the greatest of their fellow creatures ; and no 
effort, founded in good intentions, to throw new light on 
an old theme, can be regarded as altogether vain. While 
we have the benefit of the accumulated learning of past 
ages, it is perhaps questionable whether the aggregate 
amount of actual knowledge on this particular subject has 
2 (13) 



14 THE FIRST DAY — ASTRONOMICAL. 

been materially increased ; or, if increased, whether it has 
been collated into a proper focus. We see with the same 
ejes — we are compelled to use the same bodily organs 
that were used by the "fathers and awful rulers of man- 
kind." The Telescope and the Microscope have, indeed, 
revealed new creations and millions of new worlds; but 
instead of lessening the absolute mystery of God's work, 
they have only extended the boundaries of the field. Had 
we depended on our own resources — had we been cut off 
from the experience and fallacious deductions of former 
ages, physical investigations might, perhaps, have been 
directed into unexplored chaDnels, and thus have opened up 
new wonders in the regions of creation, and thrown new 
light upon those now obscure. It maj^ be said that, just 
now, all physical phenomena are surveyed through the 
glasses of the past ; and though the rays of light are re- 
flected and refracted by the most ingenious instruments, 
the varied colors we obtain, like those which span the 
vault of heaven, only remind us, after all, of the distance 
and the unfathomable depths, complications, and difficul- 
ties that encompass us on every hand. 

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the 
earth." This implies that there was a time when the 
heaven and the earth did not exist — a fact which reason 
can at least entertain ; for we know there was a time when 
toe did not exist — when the rocks under our feet, and the 
mountains towering over our heads, did not exist. These 
things we know, and others we can believe. But was there 
a time when God himself did not exist ? Who clothed 
Him with power to create worlds ? Whence was derived 
that perfection of wisdom and of action that enables him 
to diffuse throughout illimitable space the unceasing har- 
mony of Nature ? The inspired writer says nothing on 
this point, for he well knew that human reason could not 
grasp it. It is one of those awful mysteries, the existence 



THOUGHT AND VISION LIMITED. 16 

of which Knowledge, with her dim lantern, may descry, 
but cannot approach. Every attempt to go beyond the 
line of divine revelation, or to explore phenomena strictly 
ante-mundane, can only result in the aberration of reason 
or in the dreamy vagaries and sophistries of philosophy. 
From the lofty glacial peaks of Mont Blanc or the Hima- 
laya — mountains that, like Castor and Pollux, belong 
equally to heaven and to earth — the eye may gloat on the 
scenic splendors that spread out before it, until their dim 
outlines fade into the blue azure of the horizon. It is 
precisely thus with the mind. Thought and vision are 
alike confined within certain limits, beyond which it is 
impossible to go. Vision may be extended by elevating 
the surveying position ; and the Telescope can introduce 
us to new worlds in the regions of space. So, too. Thought 
may be rendered more comprehensive by mathematical 
formulae and philosophical deduction ; but after all, in 
either case, we only attain a dizzy precipice amid the 
dark, mysterious gloom. When, therefore, we speculate 
upon the original Beginning or the final End, we simply 
enter the precincts of those dark clouds that intervene 
between Death and the awakening resurrection — between 
the material world of which we constitute a part, and that 
unknown universe that lies beneath the dome of God 1 

'* The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to-day — 
Had he thy Reason, would he skip and play? 
Pleased to the last, he crops the flow'ry food, 
And licks the hand just raised to shed his blood ! 
Oh, blindness to the future ! kindly given, 
That each may fill the circle marked by Heaven V* 

As to the practical cosmogony of worlds, and especially 

that which we inhabit, human intellect has no restrictions 

imposed upon it beyond its own inherent weakness. God 

has deigned to enlighten us upon all points involving our 

2 



i^ THE FIRST DAY — ASTRONOMICAL. 

immediate and future happiness ; and it is our right and 
duty to extend our knowledge of his works by all the aids 
we can command, and which his . benevolence has fur- 
nished. Living upon a planet, more or less influenced by 
all the others, we have a right to inquire into the relations 
they severally hold to each other and to us, but more 
especially into the varied phenomena immediately around 
us. Our interest in every thing God has created is direct 
and vital ; and the investigation of Nature and its laws is, 
therefore, among the most rational and elevating duties 
which the Creator has allotted to us. It is, in fact, a 
special duty and pleasure, from which the inferior animals 
are all exempt ; and hence we have been provided with 
organs of speech, of reason, reflection, observation, and 
mechanical power, by Avhich we can render the earth we 
inhabit tributary to our gratification ; by which we are 
able to cultivate and embellish it ; and, while taking care 
of the creatures whom God has intrusted to our custody, 
also render them subservient to our wishes and plea- 
sures. 

The earth which we inhabit, we have every reason to 
believe, is infinitely older than the popular mind has been 
led to suppose. Instead of six (or, as some claim, seven 
or eight) thousand years, an examination of its rocky 
crust, and the laws controlling its primary structure, 
proves it to be of vast and utterly incalculable antiquity. 
In this respect. Geology occupies, the same ground, in re- 
lation to time, that Astronomy does in relation to distance 
and space. The one can only compute the age of particu- 
lar formations or eras by 7nillions of years; while the 
other measures the distance which separates the revolv- 
ing planets from the central sun by millions of miles. 

It is true the Bible tells us God made the earth in six 
days. To doubt its holy authenticity would betray an 
irreverence unworthy the enlightened sentiment *of the 



DAYS. OR COSMOGONAL ERAS. 17 

age — unworthy the granitic basis of Christian civilization. 
But may we not doubt whether we understand clearly 
what was intended to be conveyed ? Are we perfectly 
sure that we have not misapprehended the true meaning ? 
The word day, as at present understood, is generally re- 
stricted to express the diurnal revolution of the earth on 
its axis ; or more properly, to that time during which one 
^ half of its surface is presented to the sun. This revolution 
occupies twenty-four hours, divided into darkness and 
light ; but as only one half the earth is illuminated at a 
time, it follows that the portion of its orbit which is ele- 
vated above the rays of the sun must be involved in the 
darkness of night. This darkness at the poles continues 
without intermission for six months, until the earth, having 
attained the equinox, night again gives place to six months 
of uninterrupted day. Thus, while our days include l^t 
twenty-four hours, those of the polar regions have 8,760 ; 
or, while it requires three hundred and sixty-five of our 
days to make a year, it requires but one in the polar 
circles. We have no reason to infer that Moses was un- 
acquainted with this phenomenon, since it will hereafter 
be seen that he describes many others altogether unknown 
to the age in which he lived ; but it leads us naturally to 
the inquiry whether the word day, as used by him, does 
not more probably contemplate great geological or cos- 
mogonal eras, or lengthened periods of time, than the 
twenty-four hours of our calendar. The Hebrews used 
the word to express circles of events and periods of time, 
without regard to duration, as contradistinguished from 
other circles and periods of time ; and there is no doubt 
that its subsequent absorption into specific chronology, 
sidereal phenomena, and the diurnal revolutions of the 
earth, is mainly due to this cause. It does not follow, be- 
cause these phenomena existed previously, that the same 
word was invariably used to designate them ; and if it 



18 THE rmST DAY — ASTRONOMICAL. 

was, there is no reason to infer tliat its meaning was con^ 
fined to the expression of twenty-four hours ; for as the 
diurnal revolution of the earth actually describes a circle^ 
or nearly a true circle, there would be sufficient and equal 
propriety in applying the word to all other circles of time, 
whether great or small. During and long after the time 
of Moses, niuch diversity existed among the different na- 
tions in regard to calendar time. Romulus, 133 years 
before Christ, divided the year into ten months ; but this 
was not a true year, because it requires, instead of the 
304 days which he allowed, 365 days, 6 hours, 48 minutes 
and 51 seconds for the earth to make her annual revolu- 
tion around the sun. Numa Pompilius, his successor, 
shortly afterward added two additional months ; but the 
fractional parts were still wanting to make the year cor- 
rect. Julius Caesar, therefore, only forty-five years before 
the birth of Christ, made the year to include 365 days and 
6 hours, and established every fourth year as a leap-year 
so as to make up for the accumulating fractions of time. 
But the year thus became too long, and it was reserved 
for Pope Gregory XIII., in the year A. D. 1582, to ordain 
that the ten days between March 11 and March 21, should 
be omitted ; so that, in that particular year, March Sfl 
came directly after March 11. And to prevent future ir- 
regularity, it was provided that the first year of a century 
should not be a leap-year, with the exception of the first 
year of every fourth century. Thus, ItOO and 1800 were 
not leap-years, nor will 1900 be ; but 2000 will be such. 
In this way true calendar time is obtained, or obtained 
as nearly as it is possible under the circumstances. 

But, as contradistinguished from night, it appears that 
day originally expressed heat and warmth, or that which 
generates heat, warmth, or desire ; and as applied in the 
Mosaic record to lengthened cosmogonal eras, during 
which the work of creation was proceeding, nothing could 



MEANING OP THE WORD DAY. 19 

have been more appropriate ; for as the earth, after its 
expulsion from the central nucleus of the universe, or the 
seat of the creative volition, could not have come directly 
under the periodic influence of the sun, in its embryonic 
condition, it is certain that no such days as our own could 
then have existed, and were therefore not contemplated by 
Moses, except so far as they implied warmth, heat, or 
life-infusing periods. It was only after the appearance 
of the sun, moon, and stars, on the fourth day of creation, 
that our days, properly so understood, could have existed. 
And even with us, the word has had various significations 
among different nations, and at different periods. The 
ancient Babylonians began their day at the rising of the 
sun, while the Jews reckoned theirs from its setting. 
The Egyptians began their day at midnight ; and such is 
now the custom of the Spanish, French, English and 
American people. 

"The evening and the morning were the first day." — 
Such is the expression of Moses throughout. JEvening, 
with us, expresses the decline of day, while morning is, 
strictly, its beginnivg. But what of the intermediate 
time — the day proper, as distinguished from night ? That 
such days did not exist during the earlier stages of crea- 
iion, is sufficiently apparent by the express language and 
obvious meaning of the inspired writer. The morning, in 
the absence of day, stretched to the evening, and the even- 
ing to the morning. A circle of time is thus formed, sig- 
nificant of the first epoch of creation. But, in the face of 
the discrepancies among nations themselves as to the 
meaning of a simple word, and that word one of the old- 
est in all languages, where is the force of assuming incon- 
sistency in the divine record? The mistake, and the 
corruption of words, is with ourselves; but truth is 
unchanging, and in proportion as we consult nature and 
physical law, our ability to see and comprehend it is in- 



20 THE FIRST DAY — ASTRONOMICAL. 

creased. But while Moses uses the word symbolically 
and as a convenient measure of time, he also uses it in a 
more direct sense to express lengthened periods. This is 
perfectly conclusive in the second chapter of Genesis, 
where he says : ''These are the generations of the heavens 
and of the earth when they were created, in the day that 
the Lord Grod made the earth and the heavens, and every 
plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every 
herb of the field before it grew : for the Lord God had not 
caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man 
to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the 
earth, and watered the whole face of the ground." The 
word day is not only used here to express lengthened 
periods, but the whole sentence expressly implies length- 
ened periods. " There was no rain;" "there was not a 
man to till the ground;" "there went up a mist and 
watered the whole face of the earth" — these facts contem- 
plate long periods. No one could suppose for a moment, 
that the ground could have been cultivated, since the land 
itself had only emerged from the dominion of the sea on 
the third day. And where would have been the necessity 
for rain, if the land had only emerged from the water one 
or two days previously ? All this shows very conclusively 
that Moses used the word day to express lengthened 
periods; and it is impossible to contemplate his narrative 
in any other light. The word is often used in other 
portions of the holy book, as the " day of salvation" in 
second Corinthians ; the " day of Christ," in the eighth 
chapter of St. John ; the " day of retribution," in St. Paul, 
and elsewhere, both in the Old and the New Testament. 
The word is often used nowadays in a precisely similar 
sense. But St. Peter, as if to dispel all doubt on this 
point, declares that " one day is with the Lord as a thou- 
sand 3^ears, and a thousand years as one day." 
Among the original promulgators of the revealed law 



ANTIQUITY OP THE EARTH. ^ 

themselves, there never appears to have been the least 
misunderstanding or disagreement whatever. They were 
a unit in all the details and operations of their religious 
system. But it is with unaffected sadness that we now 
behold the Christian world very much and often bitterly 
divided in mere forms, as well as doctrinal opinions. 
When we come to a calm consideration of the peculiar 
circumstances under which the Book was translated at 
various times, and handed down from one generation and 
nation to another, invariably more or less affected by their 
varied ideas, habits, and nomenclature, I think we have 
a right to assume, not that there is or was error in the 
revelation itself, but that, if any really exist, it originated 
in our own translations and misapprehension, and is still, 
perhaps, sustained by the ignorance and questionable 
zeal of infatuated Theologasters — the dealers and venders 
of a spurious salvation. 

However this may be, the antiquity of the earth is es- 
tablished by the physical witnesses everywhere around 
us ; by the unimpeachable testimony of the great Creator 
himself, written on the faithful old rocks of the valley and 
the mountain, in language sufficiently plain and universal 
to l)e understood by the people of every clime, and tongue, 
and condition. And it may proper!}^ be assumed of the 
Holy Word itself, that it was not addressed to one gene- 
ration alone, but to the people of all time, within the 
l)Oundlcss eternity ; and that, whatever appears obscure 
now, in the unceasing progress of human events — by the 
increase of illuminating force, instead of interposing im- 
aginary contradictions, which all experience has shown to 
be transient and ephemeral, its solemn truths Avill be ren- 
dered more and more overwhelming to our improved 
nature and understanding. True Science and true Re- 
ligion, if not really co-operative in their worldly missions, 
are at leasi: never hostile or inconsistent with each other j 



22 THE FIRST DAY — ASTRONOMICAL. 

for while the one speaks in the poetry of inspiration of 
the beneficence of the Creator, and of his fatherly pro- 
vision for the offspring of his hands, the other as grace- 
fully unfolds the phenomena of his sublime laws, and with 
eloquence beyond human speech, points out the enduring 
monuments of his greatness, wisdom, and power. 

But it may be remarked, with no disposition to find 
fault, that while the immediate votaries of Science and 
Religion are themselves generally content with the pre- 
sumed harmony and compatibility of the leading dogmas 
of each, they have thus far failed to submit a scheme of 
Reconciliation, satisfactory in all its details to both parties, 
and more especially to the great mass of mankind, who, 
trembling in the feeble and unstable faith that is in them, 
naturally look to the researches of the learned for confi- 
dence and support. And if this observation may be con- 
tinued a little further, it is at least questionable whether the 
mere annunciation of individual belief in an irregular 
and undefined Reconciliation, and which is exposed to all 
the involutions and obscurities of conflicting Theological, 
Geological, and Astronomical theories, be not, after all, 
more detrimental than beneficial to the progress of sound 
Religion, as well as to Science and Truth. Religion, 
indeed, can stand on no firmer or broader foundation than 
the recognized phenomena of Nature. The earth, the 
mountains, the rocks, the sea, the stars, and the over- 
arching firmament, excite the wonder and the admiration 
of man. They speak to him in his hours of solitude. They 
are ever present in his walks. They do not bear the 
impress of human art. They bespeak a power infinitely 
higher and nobler than man. The air we breathe whispers 
of an all-pervading God ! And these are his works! 
Should there be any fear of them — any mystery or con- 
cealment touching them? Should Religion hesitate to 
explain them from the pulpit, or to call willing Science to 



NATURAL SCIENCE SEIZED BY INFIDELITY. 23 

her aid? Would it not be wiser to disseminate tracts 
embodying the simple truths of Nature, rather than moral 
and effeminate fictions ? There is no merit in the con- 
cealment of truth from the popular mind; nor can strength 
be gained by undue forbearance, or unmanly retreat from 
the field of investigation. The sermons which the Creator 
has written on stones, are more potent for good than all 
the cant flummery of pulpit Mawworms, or all the digni- 
fied mummery of scarlet-robed cardinals and pontiffs. If 
Religion be a serious reality, it must be exemplified in 
Nature, since it is only through the Avorks of God that we 
are enabled to comprehend and approach him. The 
world is governed too much by mere men — too little by 
unerring Nature. All the wisdom of mortals is the veriest 
nonsense, if not derived from her teachings and counsels; 
and if this be true, how can we make an exception for 
Religion ? 

The simple truth is, that, long since perceiving the 
secret strength which Theology could derive by a closer 
and more familiar alliance with the leading dogmas of 
Geology, Astronomy, and the co-ordinate branches of 
Natural Science, and the freezing indifference with which 
these powerful allies have always been regarded. Infidelity 
has stepped forward, and suggesting plausible interpreta- 
tions of the material scattered over the earth by the God 
of Nature himself, has thrown up thin partitions between 
them and Revelation, and boldly elaborated ingenious, in- 
ferential, and pseudo-philosophical hypotheses to destroy 
the harmony that should exist between them. The vail 
of doubt, thus thrown over Revelation, impairs the essence 
of true religion, subverts the moral sentiments, and gives 
free license to the human passions. While the world 
seems to be advancing in the scale of learning, and in all 
the arts and blandishments of civilized life, the pro rata of 
crime, wickedness, and folly, appear to be as great and 



24 THE FIKST DAY — ASTRONOMICAL. 

universal now as it was several centuries ago. Immo- 
rality, indeed, may be more refined and polished to accord 
with the standard of a, higher intellectuality ; — but there 
seems to be no diminution of its universality or of its vital 
force, as compared with previous ages. Inherent in the 
blood and flesh of man, vice seems t# grow with cultivation, 
like the seeds scattered by the farmer. Growing thus in the 
extended domains of Christianity, it presents a humiliat- 
ing comment on its policy and boasted virtues. And yet, 
so long as the spirit of worldly pride is fostered in the 
church, what other result could be anticipated ? 

But to return to the antiquity of the earth : Had we 
no other evidence to destroy the theory of its simultaneous 
creation, with the first efforts of the divine volition, the 
mere want of parallelism, or conformable order, between 
the proximate layers of the several great formations, 
would alone suffice. For while, in the character of their 
fossil remains, and the circumstances of their- deposition 
and elevation, they all preserve a peculiar individuality, 
they yet often occur in the utmost confusion to each other; 
thus pointing unmistakably to periods of alternating ac- 
tivity and repose — or more properly, lengthened periods 
of night and day. But not only is there a positive agree- 
ment, in the number of cosmical eras, with the six creative 
days of Moses, but there is also a regular correspondence, 
from first to last, in the prominent features of each. 
Geology, as a science, was wholly unknown to the era of 
Moses — so, too, was Astronomy, so far as true mathe- 
matical and telescopic investigations are concerned. And 
yet Moses describes phenomena which the brightest intel- 
lects of the world have been several thousand years in 
discovering. He indicates a progressive movement which 
the author of the Vestiges of Creation might have studied 
with profit, and which we may define with Pictet, thus : 
that the species of one geological epoch, as a general thing, 



THE ANTIQUITY OP THE EARTH PROVED. 25 

lived neither before nor after that epoch ; — that the differ- 
ences between extinct faunas and living animals, are greater 
in proportion to their antiquity ; — that the comparison of 
faunas of different eras shows that the temperature of the 
earth has been greatly varied; — that the species which 
lived in the present eras had a more extended geographi- 
cal distribution than the species which exist now ; — and 
that the faunas of the ancient strata are composed of 
animals of a more simple organization, and their degree 
of perfection increases in proportion as we approach eras 
more recent. 

These phenomena are all indicated in regular order and 
succession, in the Mosaic account of the creation ; and 
we thus perceive an onward, progressive movement — 
every era improving upon the last, and all contradicting 
the idea of simultaneous action, or what amounts to nearly 
the same thing, creative action of six day's duration. 
But I must here add a word of caution touching the char- 
acter of this progress. While we discover a progressive 
development in the geological eras, as compared with each 
leading formation in ascending order, it is not a continuous 
and uninterrupted chain of development of species and 
t3qoe, from a low to a higher order, as claimed by the 
author of the Vestiges of Creation, It is, in fact, quite 
the contrary — inasmuch as every era was furnished with 
a new and special creation, thereby isolating and discon- 
necting it from those of the preceding or succeeding eras. 
This fact is clear and overwhelming to the geological in- 
vestigator ; and it is unmistakably embodied in the con- 
cise narrative of Moses. Had he introduced man in any 
other than the modern geological era ; or had he given 
precedence to animal over vegetable life, or spoken of 
marine animals in the nascent seas of the earth — all this 
would have utterly destroyed the authenticity and integ- 
rity of his history. His narrative is therefore not only 



26 THE FIRST DAY — ASTRONOMICAL. 

true in all its details and inferences, but it comprises one 
of the most remarkable, concise, and perfect descriptions 
of natural phenomena ever written ; and it is not in the 
power of any living man to infuse into words any thing 
like the same amount of meaning. 

Geology, however, does not stand alone in maintaining 
the vast antiquity of our globe. All the co-ordinate 
branches of science confirm it, and Astronomy establishes 
it on the fixed basis of mathematical demonstration. Mer- 
cury is the nearest planet to the sun — the intervening 
distance which separates them being thirty-seven millions 
of miles. Then comes Yenus, revolving at a distance of 
sixty-eight millions ; and then the Earth which we inhabit, 
ninety-five millions of miles distant. After the earth 
comes Mars, one hundred and forty-four millions from the 
sun ; and then we have the eight asteroids discovered by 
Herschell, and which perhaps average two hundred and 
fifty millions of miles each. ]N'ext to these asteroids is 
Jupiter, whirling through space at a distance of four hun- 
dred and ninety millions of miles from the sun ; then 
Saturn, nine hundred millions ; then Uranus, nineteen 
hundred millions ; and finally Neptune, twenty-eight hun- 
dred millions of miles from the centre of the solar system. 
As the lighthouse guides the benighted mariner in his 
trackless path along the tempestuous coasts of the ocean, 
so even these distant luminaries seem to guide us along 
the sloping shores of Time — for they remain forever " foi 
signs, and for seasons, and for days and years." But aj* 
we turn from star to star, and from cluster to cluster, witli 
all the aids that art and successive ages have placed in 
our grasp, we must cease further pursuit, to fall down 
and adore ! The ocean of infinite Space expands before 
the view, and its azure hue separates our " mortal coil' 
from the unexplored Eternity ! 

The earth is but ninety-five millions of miles from the 



IMMENSITY OF SPACE AND PLANETARY DISTANCE. 27 

sun around which it revolves — a distance which, compared 
with that of Keptune or Uranus, is comparatively insig- 
nificant. Yet, in an age of steam and magnetic tele- 
graphs, no human being can realize such an extent of 
space. Ninety-five millions — of miles / It has been re- 
marked that a cannon-ball, urged at the greatest velocity 
which such a projectile ever attained, would consume 
more than twenty years in penetrating such a space. 
Our nearest nocturnal neighbor, " the inconstant moon," 
is but two hundred and thirty-seven thousand miles from 
us — a distance so trifling that astronomers have actually 
mapped its geognostic configuration, and bestowed names 
upon its principal mountains, craters, deserts, and green 
plains. Some persons, indeed, indulging a taste for geology, 
have speculated upon its physical composition, which has 
popularly been referred to green cheese I — (curdled, very 
likely, from the Milky Whey !) 

It has been ascertained, by various ingenious experi- 
ments, that light penetrates space with a speed some- 
thing like 16*7,000 miles per second. This, multiplied by 
60, would give a fraction over ten millions of miles per 
minute, or 600,000,000 per hour, and 122,400,000,000 per 
day. Strange as it may appear, we know that there are 
planets and clusters of stars and nebulae so far beyond the 
reach of our telescopes, that, even at the extraordinary 
speed with which light diffuses itself, it must have re- 
quired, in some cases, several millions of years for their 
light to reach the earth. jSTow, the Milky Way forms 
one of the grandest features of the firmament. It com- 
pletely encircles the whole fabric of the skies, and sends 
its light down upon us, according to the best observations, 
from no less than eighteen millions of suns. These are 
planted at various distances, too remote to be more than 
feebly understood ; but their light, the medium of meas- 
urement, requires, for its transmission to our eartli, pe- 



28 THE FIRST DAY — ASTRONOMICAL. 

riods ranging from ten to many thousands of years. Such is 
the sum of the great truths revealed to us by the two Her- 
schells, who, with a zeal which no obstacle could daunt, 
have explored every part of the prodigious circle. Sir 
William Herschell, after accomplishing his famous sec- 
tion, believed that he had gauged the Milky Way to its 
lowest depth, affirming that he could follow a cluster of 
stars with his telescope, constructed expressly for the in- 
vestigation, as far back as would require 330,000 years 
for the transmission of its light. I am well aware that, 
to the minds of some readers, such statements will appear 
wild, if not perfectly incredible. But they will perhaps 
receive some degree of credence when it is remembered 
that the same scientific acumen and research which en- 
abled Kepler, Newton, Leverrier, or Herschell to explore 
and resolve astronomical phenomena, also enables more 
humble workers in the vast regions of space to foretell, 
with unerring exactness, an eclipse of the sun or moon, 
the eccentric movements of comets, or any other sidereal 
phenomena. The arrival of the comet which figured so 
conspicuously in our horizon in the autumn of 1858, was 
correctly calculated several years in advance by nearly all 
the American and European astronomers. After the dis- 
covery of the law of universal gravitation had provided 
the key to unlock the door of astronomical mystery, 
Halley conceived the idea that all comets moved in obe- 
dience to such a law ; and in speculating upon that of 
1682, he not only explained phenomena previously noted 
by Kepler in 160t, and by Apian in 1651, but ventured 
to predict the return of the same body in 1^58 — a predic- 
tion fully verified. Its reappearance in 1835 had been 
predicted several years in advance, within a period of six 
days! Considering the eccentric movements, and the 
wide intervals of time between the arrival and departure 
of comets, the accuracy of these astronomical calculations 



PRACTICAL VALUE OP ASTRONOHCAL SCIENCE. 29 

is truly wonderful. But there is nothing in nature more 
regular than the precession of the equinoxes, the con- 
stantly changing seasons, or the dally rising and setting 
of the sun. The everyday operations of agriculture are 
very much influenced by the changes in the temperature 
of the earth, caused by the solar system of which it is a 
member; and the astronomical calculations usually em- 
bodied in the Almanac are consequently of great interest 
and importance to husbandry. But Astronomy subserves 
a still more important purpose in ocean navigation, where 
the commerce of the world and the lives of thousands of 
individuals are constantly exposed to the dangers of the 
sea. " That a man," says Sir John Herschell, " by merely 
measuring the moon's apparent distance from a star, with 
a little portable instrument held in his hand, and applied 
to his eye, even with so unstable a footing as the deck of 
a ship, shall say positively, within five miles, where he is 
on a boundless ocean, cannot but appear, to persons ig- 
norant of physical astronomy, an approach to the mir- 
aculous." 

But one of the most beautiful discoveries of the present 
age, was that of the planet Neptune, some twelve years 
ago. For many years after the discovery of Uranus, 
astronomers were perplexed to account for certain varia- 
tions in the orbit of this planet — the calculations of old 
observations not agreeing with the new ones, and both 
alike inconsistent with known facts in reference to its 
orbitual motions. Some accounted for the discrepancy 
by suggesting the influence of comets, or denying the 
universality of the law of gravitation ; but Leverrier and 
Bouvier of France, and Adams of England, insisting on 
the law of the mutual dependence of planets upon each 
other, suggested the existence of another planet beyond 
Uranus. Acting on this theory, these gentlemen entered 
into the most complex and laborious calculations, to find 



30 THE FIRTT DAY — ASTRONOIMICAL. 

out tlie position wliich this unseen disturber of Uranus 
occupied in the firmament. Leverrier finished his calcu- 
lations, which exhibited a longitude for the planet of 326° 
32', a mass two and one-half times that of Uranus, a 
distance from the Sun 36,154 times that of the earth, and 
a periodic revolution in 211,381 years. The position, 
magnitude, and general character of the unknown planet 
thus defined, Leverrier transmitted the result to M. Galley 
of the Observatory at Berlin. On the very evening that 
the letter came to hand, Galle turned his great telescope 
in the direction indicated, and startling as the fact may 
appear, the planet was detected among the innumerable 
throng of the glittering stars, within fifty-two seconds of 
the exact spot pointed out by Leverrier. Such triumphs 
as these elevate man above the level of his nature. They 
exalt him above the fabled gods of heathen mythology. 
That we should thus explore the regions of space, measure 
the planets, and resolve their motions, is a fact which the 
Almighty author himself cannot but contemplate with 
benignant satisfaction I 

The long-continued observations of astronomers, re- 
solved into great mathematical and geometrical laws, not 
only establish the antiquity of the earth beyond all doubt 
or cavil, but also furnish the data by means of which we 
can form a satisfactory estimate as to the origin of the world 
itself. The most probable theory to account for the pri- 
mary formation of worlds, is that originally suggested by 
Herschell, and afterward more fully elaborated by Laplace. 
It has been called the Nebular hypothesis. Shortly after 
Lord Rosse erected his gigantic telescope, and resolved 
the nebulae in the constellation of Orion into clusters of 
stars, it was thought by some that the theory had been 
much impaired ; for if the nebulae could be resolved into 
stars in one instance, there would seem to be requisite 
only sufficient telescopic power to resolve all such aggre» 



NEBn.OrS OIUGTN OF THE EARTH. 31 

gations in space into similar stellar bodies. This, indeed, 
might bo true, and yet the force of the theory would not 
be destroyed ; for it is only the primary condition of these 
bodies, an nebulte, which the theory contemplates. But 
although the nebulas of Orion has been resolved, there are 
many isolated and independent aggregations in space, 
which the telescope has not changed ; and these can be 
accounted for in no other way than on the supposition of 
their having been thrown off from the primary planets, 
if not directly from the sun himself. These aggregations 
or swarms of floating vapor abound everywhere amid the 
universal space. Their elements, whatever they comprise, 
must be different from the surrounding ether, or else 
unite peculiar chemical compounds of the upper air. 
They assume every imaginable form, and appear in differ- 
ent degrees of density — passing from a mere thin film into 
fleecy atmospheres encircling central stars, like those of 
comets, and often emerging into the luminosity of actual 
stellar groups, as in the case of Orion. They have been 
thus traced in every form of condensation, from their 
primary embryonic condition into vast suns and systems 
like our own. It was owing to the gradations thus ob- 
served, in connection with other considerations, that the 
idea of the formation of worlds was suggested to the mind 
of Herschell. Regarding the sun as the primary centre 
of the planetary system, it is inferred that he threw off, at 
successive periods, while undergoing a process of conden- 
sation, as the inevitable result of a rotary motion, all the 
worlds that now revolve around him, including our own, 
as well as all the moons and satellites appertaining to 
them. The sun, therefore, must be regarded as the parent 
of all the stellar bodies cortiprising our solar system. This 
idea derives additional support from various collateral 
phenomena, among which may be mentioned. First : The 
singular and significant fact, that all the planets revolve 
3 



32 THE FIRST DAY — ASTRONOMICAL. 

in one direction only, viz., from west to east. As this 
is the direction which the sun liimself observes, it is plain 
that it is the result of laio — that the planets, as they were 
thrown off from his outer rim, were hurled through 
space in the direction of the parent body, and, while they 
evinced a constant tendency to return home, were as con- 
stantly repelled by his Hwperior motion. Second: The 
planets all describe circles, with but slight elliptic devia- 
tions, and this form is due to their primary nebulosity 
exposed to a rotary motion. A drop of rain or a piece 
of molten lead, as it falls through space, assumes, a 
rounded or globular shape ; and so these incipient worlds, 
as they were cast oir from the rim of the parent sun, in 
the form of attenuated vapor, took the form which char- 
acterizes the earth, whereupon they were forever con- 
signed to the positions they respectively occupy, and, 
once brought under the regular and un deviating laws of 
attraction and repulsion, underwent the changes, internal 
and external, which have resolved them into the physical 
properties essential to the universal harmony. Had the in- 
cipient worlds thus cast off not assumed the globular form, 
but spread out as mere irregular agglomerations or sheets of 
vapor, it is probable that they might have been again ab- 
sorbed by the sun ; but the motion which they all inherited 
from the parent body was sufficient to resolve them into 
globes, just as sheets of water, thrown off from a wheel 
in rapid motion, will part into thousands of independent 
but minute globes. The form wliich water thus assumes, 
is as much due to a natural laiu as that of gravitation 
itself. And there are few things in nature more interest- 
ing than this same law of forms, now termed Morphology. 
Every thing preserves an individiiality of form and struc- 
ture, from a grain of sand on the sea-shore, to a cr3^stal 
of quartz, or of galena, or pyrites, in the solid rocks ; from 
the flower or the fruit to the tree ; from an insect to th*> 



LAW OP PLANETARY DISTANCE AND DENSITY. 33 

soaring eagle ; from the inferior animals up to man, and 
from mankind to worlds — all assume forms at once spe- 
cific and peculiar to their kinds. Third : It will be ob- 
served, from the distances of the planets from the sun, as 
previously mentioned, that there is a regular or nearly 
regular increase, from one to the other, thus going to show 
that there was a law under which the expulsion of the 
planets from the primary solar nebulas was regulated ; 
that, in fact, they were not thrown off by mere chance or 
accident, but at regular intervals, and according to a fixed 
and previously arranged plan. This law (concerning the 
bearings of which we have still much to learn) was dis- 
covered by the celebrated Bode, and is expressed by say- 
ing "that the interval between the orbits of any two 
planets is about twice as great as the inferior interval, 
and only half the superior one." Fourth: Not only is 
there a fixed order in th^ relative distances of the planets 
from the sun, and from each other, but there is a similar 
order in their respective times of revolution. Thus, Mer- 
cury, the nearest planet to the sun, revolves around him 
in two months and twenty-eight days ; Yenus, in seven 
months and fifteen days ; the Earth, in one year and six 
hours ; Mars, in one year, ten months, and twenty-one 
days ; Vesta, in three years, seven months, and twenty- 
one days ; Juno, Ceres, and Pallas, in four years and some 
eight months each ; while Jupiter occupies eleven years, 
ten months, and seventeen days ; Saturn, twenty-nine 
years, five months, and twenty-four days ; and Uranus 
eighty-four years and twenty-seven days ! Here, it will 
]je observed, the order of time is strictly in correspondence 
with that of distance, and we thus evolve a powerful in- 
ference in favor of the primary origin of all these bodies 
from the central sun around which they revolve — begin- 
ning with the most distant, as Uranus and Saturn, and 
terminating with the Earth, Yenus, and Mercury. The 



34 THE FIRST DAY — ASTRONOMICAL. 

weight of these orbs, as compared with an equal bulk of 
water, undergoes a change somewhat similar — dimin- 
ishes outward from the sun. Mercury weighs more than 
seventeen times as much as water ; Yenus more than five 
times ; the Earth more than four ; Mars more than three ; 
Jupiter more than one ; while that of Saturn is barely 
half as great. Thus, an individual who weighs one hun- 
dred pounds on the Earth, if removed to Mercury, would 
weigh nearly four hundred pounds ; while, if transferred to 
Saturn, he would dwindle down to fifty pounds. This 
law is accounted for in the superior density of all bodies 
toward their centre, and applies equally well to the 
Earth itself as to the planets in general. The nearer w^ 
approach to the centre of the Earth, the greater becomes 
the force of attraction ; and it is precisely thus with the 
planets in their relation to the sun. The weight of the 
waters of the sea is such that, beyond a certain ascertained 
depth, the minute corals and mollusca that inhabit it, and 
fill the waters with their comminuted slime and chalk, 
cannot live. The radiation of light is a good illustration 
of the law which graduates the density of planets. To 
illustrate : let the letter A represent a light. Let B repre- 
sent the surface upon which the light A is reflected, which 
we may suppose to be distant one hundred feet ; at the 
distance of two hundred feet, the light of A would occupy 
at G four times the surface that it did at B, but would 
lose correspondingly in density. At the distance of three 
hundred feet, D, the light of A would cover nine times Ihe 
extent of surface as at B, but with still diminished density ; 
while at E, being four times the distance, the light would 
expand to sixteen times its original area ; but in each case 
its density would decrease, like that of milk diluted with 
similar proportions of water. This law of variation ac- 
cording to the square of the distance, applies equally to 
all physical forces which are capable of radiation from a 



THE KNOWN AND THE UNKNOWN. 35 

central nucleus, as gravitation, heat, electricity, magnet- 
ism, steam, sound, etc., etc. 

While the human mind may imagine the origin of 
worlds, in the manner here suggested, and find much to 
support the hypothesis in the known and familiar laws of 
nature and matter, it is yet utterly incapable of proceeding 
further. It cannot comprehend — it cannot conceive, for a 
single moment, how, where, or when the great Creator 
obtained the seemingly varied materials with which he 
has constructed so many millions of radiant worlds. It 
cannot conceive any plausible explanation of forces, even. 
Things which we daily see and feel, as light, heat, air, 
^llectricity — or which we daily handle, as gold, silver, iron, 
sulphur, or any of the other sixty-two simple elements or 
substances with which we are acquainted — nobody can 
satisfactorily explain their primary origin, or trace them 
back to the laboratory whence they were evolved. We 
see them — observe their effects — and perceive that they 
all work agreeably to law. We thus detect a primary 
cause — a Creator who acts by a plan. We see him in all 
things — from the minute atom or particle to stupendous 
globes ; — yet we cannot even imagine his vital or personal 
embodiment, much less can we imagine his origin. All 
these are points, the solution of which can only be deter- 
mined by God himself; — they are not for man. It is 
enough for us to know that worlds exist within worlds ; 
that whole systems and universes revolve in space, so 
far distant from our own that no conception can be formed 
of the intervening space ; and yet, all that we can see or 
learn concerning them, shows that there is universal law, 
order, and harmony among them all. 

Now, supposing the planets of our system (twenty-two 
in number, with perhaps an equal number of satellites or 
moons,) to have primarily belonged to the sun around 
which they revolve, and to have been successively thrown 



36 THE PmST DAY — ASTRONOMICAL. 

off in the manner indicated ; we may assume that the sun 
previously stood in the relation to the other systems that 
these planets now occupy to him. In the beginning, 
therefore, the elements now comprising manj- globes, 
comprised but one. There was absolute unity, the em- 
bodiment of which was the Creator himself. In him all 
things centred, and upon the exercise of his volition, all 
things sprang or irradiated, — each particle of matter, or 
force, or principle, being clothed with powers for combi- 
nation, affinity, and relation to other particles, in the union 
of which life was inclosed as in the seeds of fruit. After 
the planets had been thus irradiated, they were kept in 
place by an inherent propensity to return back into uni% 
— a propensity which may be termed the law of gravita- 
tion. But, in consequence of the superior velocity of the 
primary sun around which they revolve, and the varied 
relations which they respectively owe to each other, there 
is no possibility of their fusion, and hence, the two 
opposing forces of attractive gravitation and diffusive re- 
pulsion, merely serve to keep them in constant motion 
around the primary source. 

As to the earth itself: When we reflect how easily, 
by the mere change of temperature, water is converted 
into ice, or dissipated into steamy vapor — how copper, 
lead, or any other mineral or rock, may be made to bubble 
and boil in liquid fire at our feet, there is little real diffi- 
culty in the way of tracing the earth, according to the 
nebular hypothesis, throughout all the stages of a gaseous, 
a liquiform, and thence into that more dense, compact, and 
solid condition preceding the great purposes it was to 
subserve in the almighty design. The combination of 
oxygen with hydrogen, in certain equivalents, produces 
water ; the compounds of carbon with both, form the 
great bulk of all vegetation and animal substances. 
These and other chemical compounds, comprise the solid 



WORLDS WITHIN WORLDS. 8T 

body of the earth, and of the atmosphere around it ; and 
hence, its origin from the nebulous elements abounding in 
universal space, is merely a chemical phenomena, so far 
as its aggregate particles have been formed and attracted 
to each other. If the embryo foetus of animals be instinct 
with the vitality that is to bear them onward through the 
various stages of birth, of youthful development, and 
mature age ; it may likewise be assumed that these 
nebulous bodies inherit primarily the light, or heat, or 
vital principle necessary for their subsequent develop- 
ment into planets, and for the discharge of all those func- 
tions in the future, which the unchanging laws of the 
universe impose. And the same law that originates and 
sustains organic life, and causes earthly and mineral atoms 
to cohere, has formed the world — for these are in fact but 
the great aggregate compounds of innumerable and inde- 
pendent atoms. A drop of water suspended from a 
trembling leaf, is as much, as completely a world to the 
animalculae that inhabit it, as our world is to us ; — and 
very likely the phenomena outside and around them, 
appear to their microscopic vision as stupendous, and 
wonderful as the other worlds that are suspended around 
us. The air, the ocean, and the earth, teem with minute 
worlds, inhabited by creatures so inestimably small that 
the highest powers of the microscope are often insuflicient 
to reveal them, and yet our world is nothing but the com- 
bined aggregate of the whole, as the great universe itself 
is but the aggregate of millions upon millions of other 
worlds, many of them far exceeding the dimensions of our 
own. 

As to the formation of the earth : if Moses, inspired by 
prophecy, could penetrate the narrow vistas of the future, 
there is every reason to infer that the past was not beyond 
the reach of his mental vision ; but that, like 



88 THE FIRST DAY — ASTRONOMICAL. 

" Caethus, the seer, his comprehensive view 
The Past, the Present, and the Future knew. 



In ancient times the seers and soothsayers comprised a 
numerous, if not always a somewhat influential class ; 
and though they did not invariably pretend to divine in- 
spiration, they yet often directed the most important 
movements of armies and of states. The oracles of 
Greece were the most potent institutions of the confedera- 
tion ; and that of Delphi was endowed with the richest 
spoils of victory, and the most magnificent offerings of 
kings and states. As it would seem to be perfectly con- 
sistent with the whole theory and practice of prophecy, 
we have a right to suppose that the description he gives 
of the creation was revealed to Moses in a series of Ideal 
Tableaux, corresponding to the six calendar days or cos- 
mogonal eras. These tableaux or pictures would, of 
course, delineate only the more prominent features of each 
day or formation, leaving the subordinate incidents or 
details in the background of Time. 

When Moses, therefore, lifting the vail that revealed the 
unshaped embryo of the world, declares that " in the be- 
ginning God created the heaven and the earth, and that 
the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was 
on the face of the deep," he simply describes a phenome- 
non which the nebular theory reclaims from mysterious 
obscurity. " He created the heaven and the earth ;" that 
is to say, he created the substances of which the heaven 
and the earth are composed : for if any thing more or be- 
yond, the embryo was created " in the beginning," there 
would obviously have been no occasion for the subsequent 
six days' creation, during which the earth was being 
gradually developed for its future purposes. The heaven 
was first in the order of time, and it was only the earth that 
was without form at the era which Moses describes — the 



THE EARTH IMPREGNATET WITH LIFE. 39 

heaven having evidently been complete. From this the 
substance of the earth was derived, and impregnated with 
the creative vitality — for " the spirit of God now moved 
upon the face of the waters;" or, in other words, God 
moved the waters, or caused motion to exist on the face 
of them, or throughout the entire body of the elemental 
mass. We must here bear in mind that words often lose 
their original meaning. While it is natural for us to sup- 
pose that the spirit of God moved like a spectre on the 
face or the surface of the waters, the truth is that the 
word face was formerly equivalent to our word through- 
out, and therefore implies that the spirit, moving as it 
did, communicated to the waters, or the half-hquid nebula, 
the force and strength and animation of his volition. In 
brief, the embryo earth thus became a living foetus in the 
womb of the Universe, and had now entered the period 
of gestation. 

" And God said, Let there be light ; and there was 
light ; and seeing that it was good, divided the light from 
the darkness." It will be borne in mind that light is not 
only reflected from nebulous bodies, but that, in conse- 
quence of its solar derivation, it forms an inherent con- 
stituent of their composition ; hence, on attaining a certain 
degree of density, they are resolved into luminous globes. 
It was thus with the earth. Light, or rather heat, emerg- 
ing from the elements thus chemically combined, was 
separated from the original gloom. It was not, perhaps, 
the flaming light which results from the combustion of 
gases, but rather the radiated heat of molten or liquid 
matter — such as is reflected from incandescent bodies, or 
such as now comprises the liquid atmosphere of the sun. 
The solar atmosphere which surrounds our earth had no 
existence upon it at that time — the heat having been 
confined to the centre while the opaque exterior was un- 
dergoing refrigeration. Consequently, there could have 



40 THE FIRST DAY — ASTRONOMICAL. 

been no such day as ours, and for the sufficient reason 
that the world had not yet come under the direct and 
equable influence of the sun, but existed for an indefinite 
period as an incipient or embryo nebulous planet, 

"Let there be light," said God ; and forthwith light 
Ethereal, first of things, quintessence pure, 
Sprang from the deep, and from her native East 
To journey through the air)' gloom began, 
Sphered in a radiant cloud — for yet the sun 
Was not 5 — she in a cloudy tabernacle 
Sojom*ned the while. God saw the light was good, 
And light from darkness by the hemisphere 
Divided — light the day, and darkness night, 
He named. This was the first day, even and morn." 

Miltotk, 



THE SECOND DAY— ASTRONOMICAL. 

6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, 
and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firma- 
ment, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the 
waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God 
called the firmament heaven. And the evening and the morning were 
the second day. 

The earth which we inhabit occupies a position in that 
broad belt stretching over the firmament which, from its 
nebulous aspect, has been termed the Milky Way. Al- 
though this zone is studded with millions of worlds, many 
of them immensely larger than our own, its prevailing 
aspect, as indicated by the name, is that of nebulosity ; 
and in connection with the supposed primary origin of 
our globe, this fact betrays a great deal of significance. 
From unshapen nebulosity, the earth passed into a fluid 
condition, having its inherent heat in the centre, as the 
axis. The earth is therefore described by Moses as a 
fluid — as a vast globe of water ; and such, in fact, it was, 
and is even now. While water itself, in the form of seas 
and rivers, occupies more than three-fourths of the actual 
surface of the earth. Its elements, in the form of hydrogen 
and oxygen, mainly fill the air. Its presence in organic 
life is equally as great as in inorganic substances. A 
man, for example, who weighs 154 pounds, is made up 
of 116 pounds of water — leaving but 38 pounds of dry 
matter ; while in lower animals the quantity of water is 
still 'comparatively greater. Some aqueous animals, in- 

(41) 



42 THE SECOND DAY — ASTRO- GEOLOGICAL. 

deed, contain 99 per cent, of water in their solid compo- 
sition. The original fluidity of the earth, therefore, as here 
described by Moses, is one of those singular and extraordi- 
nary facts which, although little suspected by the popular 
mind, is incontestibly established by the testimony of 
nature. 

When the phenomena of the second day were revealing 
themselves to the mental vision of Moses, the young or 
embryo earth had already surrounded its interior heat by 
a wall of sub-aqueous granite — that is, while the exterior 
surface was a boiling sea, the interior heat was surrounded 
like the shell of an egg, by an earthy precipitate congeal- 
ing into crystalline rock.- This was the immediate result 
of calorific sublimation, as opposed to the external ten- 
dency to refrigeration. The pores of the rocky shell, 
however, were easily penetrated by the overlying water, 
while they also served as conduits of the interior heat. The 
carbon (of the heat) thus operated as a liberator of the 
oxygen of the water, and upon its partial decomposition, 
or rather its evaporation, the volatile gases were dispelled 
into the surrounding atmosphere. Water thus decom- 
posed would leave behind its earthy precipitates, and 
evolve iron, sulphur, alumina, lime, or whatever solids 
remained in the rocks thus accumulating. In the mean 
time, the steamy evaporation compelled the gases to form 
new combinations with the ether (a substance believed to 
exist, but of unknown qualities), and nothing could have 
been more natural than for these (especially in view of the 
lightness of hydrogen) to arrange themselves into an 
arching vault over the vast plain of boiHng water beneath 
— or rather, the vast concave surface of boiling oceans. 
Constantly and regularly widening, with the increased 
evaporation or liberation of the aqueous mass below, it 
was finally transformed into that magnificent ethereal 
dome, strung with myriads of glittering jewels, which we 



THE FIRMAMENT — WHAT IS IT? 43 

see suspended over us, and which, in fact, merely adapts 
itself, as Moses implies, to the convex surface of the earth. 
And here, again, we have another beautiful illustration 
of the divine origin of the Mosaic revelation. The 
ancients almost universally regarded the firmament as a 
solid crystalline body, to which the stars were attached as 
if by metallic rivets. At the same time the surface of the 
earth was very generally regarded as a level plain. In- 
deed, the Church of Rome, at one period, made it heresy 
to doubt this proposition, with others equally absurd. 
But long anterior to this, and in the face of all the acade- 
micians and philosophers of his own and subsequent ages, 
Moses enunciated a cosmogony utterly at variance with 
the old philosophy, and the truth of which seems to have 
been reserved for the Telescope, and other modern appli- 
ances, fully to establish. Now, in the original Greek, 
biased by the then prevailing speculations, the word firma- 
ment here used is translated to signify a concave with a 
solid base ; but it appears that, on referring to the original 
Hebrew text, it is found strictly to imply a vast space 
without limitation ! Even the great Kepler at one time 
regarded the earth as a stupendous animal, who, breath- 
ing in and spouting out the waters of the ocean like a 
whale, occasioned the ebbing and flowing of the tides I 
Yet, here we find Moses, several thousand years in ad- 
vance, calmly and briefly detailing the cosmogony of the 
earth, and its varied creation, according to the concen- 
trated and constantly accruing /ac^s of six thousand years I 
He was, in fact, not only in advance of his own age, the 
age of Egypt in its highest power and glory ; but he was 
in advance of Greece, by whom he was translated, in its 
highest power and glory ; and he remains still in advance 
— far in advance of modern Science, and of an age unex- 
ampled in wisdom and intelligence ! But, unlike preceding 
ages, the discoveries of modern times tend to the con- 



44 THE SECOND DAY — ASTRO-GEOLOGICAL. 

firmation of his cosmogony ; and every progressive step 
' — every fresli incursion into the mysterious domain of 
Nature, only establishes the sublimity and depth of his 
penetration, and the absolute purity and extent of his 
inspiration. 

But the process of evaporating or separating the waters 
was by no means a slow or tame one. It was accelerated 
by the most terrific volcanic action, the necessary prelude 
to the gigantic object to be attained. In anticipation of 
the birth of animated nature, with which the young earth 
was now pregnant, and in view of the great events to 
occur in the succeeding days, there crept beneath those 
vapor-enveloped seas a dull, complaining, and rumbling 
sound — faint and half-suppressed at first by the hissing 
waters, but rising anon in might and strength, like con- 
tending armies of defiant thunderbolts, whose glittering 
sabres throw off the vivid lightning's flash. Then fol- 
lowed fast, and then faster still, the stifling, choking 
volcano, every new explosion vomiting up lurid smoke, 
and scalding steam, and fantastic clouds of glaring fire I 
The earth shuddered ! Its seas roll up in savage tem- 
pest-tossed billows ; its submarine floors of granite break 
in deep and lengthened gulfs, while the elemental warfare 
still continues with redoubled strife within its cavernous 
bowels. Around — above — beneath — all was now one 
grand, seething, hissing, roaring, eruptive caldron ! No 
animal — no living creature was. on the earth. No fish 
was in the sea. No bird spread his soaring pinions in the 
air! No flowers bloomed. No trees waved their spread- 
ing foliage to the breeze ; — but, amid the dusky atmosphere 
of poison — amid the detonations of hydrous oxygen, the 
stifling fumes of sulphur, the mephitic vapors of azote, and 
the scorching avalanches of porphyritic soot, the young 
Earth groaned in labor, and at every convulsive throe, 



THE BIRTH OF ANIMATED NATURE. 45 

fragments of molten rock, huge as high Olympus, fell in 
fiery tempests on her heaving breast I 

Such were the extraordinary convulsion* which char- 
acterized the second, and aided the operations of the third 
day. Toward the evening, when the waters began to 
withdraw like the ebbing of the tide, vast regions of sub- 
merged lands struggled with the shallow surfs to escape 
the dominion of the sea. The rocks thus emerging com- 
prise the most extensive and wide-spread groups in the 
stratification of the earth, forming, as they now do, the 
central nucleus of the most elevated mountain chains that 
distinguish its surface, and the solid basis upon which all 
the others rest. They are the family of granites, and the 
immediate progenitors of the volcanic rocks that resulted 
from the disturbance of the primary shell surrounding the 
interior heat. 

There is scarcely a district in Europe, Asia, or Africa, 
in which these rocks do not exist — though the more recent 
groups are often deposited over them in irregular patches. 
In America they constitute at least three-fourths of the 
surface, covering the greater portion of Canada and 
Russian America, and stretching in an uninteiTupted 
belt along the Pacific Ocean, from South America to 
CaUfomia, Oregon, and Behring's Straits. In the United 
States an irregular, though continuous belt of igneous 
rocks extends along the Atlantic slope, from Maine to 
Georgia ; on the one side, running parallel with the Ter- 
tiary, which dips into the ocean, and on the other with a 
group of the New Red Sandstone, lying to the north- 
west. They also cover a large surface in Minnesota, 
Wisconsin, and the upper peninsula of Michigan ; while 
they occupy nearly the whole extent of the Rocky 
Mountain country. 

As these are the lowest rocks yet discovered in the 
earth, and the most widely distributed, there can be no 



46 THE SECOND DAY — ASTRO-GEOLOGICAL. 

question whatever as to their being also the oldest. 
Granite itself is composed of mica, quartz, and felspar — . 
the latter predf>minating. Being crystalline and unstrati- 
fied, it bears equal pressure in every position, and hence 
is largely employed in architecture. 

The rocks comprising the inclosing circle of the interior 
heat, are usually termed Plutonic, to distinguish them 
from those immediately subsequent, which are volcanic. 
The two combined are termed igneous rocks, and are 
thus distinguished from the metamorphic. The Plutonic 
include granite, syenite, and eurite ; the volcanic— which 
are the others differently amalgamated by fusion — are 
basalt, greenstone, claystone, porphyry, amygdaloid, and 
lava. Now, when the interior heat burst through the 
rind of granite, thousands of great streams of lava were 
discharged, in various quarters of the earth, from sub- 
marine volcanic craters. The fragments of rock were 
ground and shattered into pebbles and sand, in their 
upward passage, and their particles uniting with the 
liquid lava, spread over the bottom of the sea, the agita- 
tion and pressure of the water often giving them a wavy, 
irregular, and contorted structure. The ultimate effect of 
this universal and stupendous volcanic action (converting 
gases into liquids, and liquids into solids) was to bring 
from the watery waste a series of island reefs, united 
together by a reticulated chain of narrow peninsulas, 
stretching around expansive lakes, rivers, and basins, far 
into the ocean. These islands subsequently become 
continents. 

Although basalt, greenstone, claystone, porphyry, amyg- 
daloid, and lava, are the general names of the volcanic 
group, the various subsequent combinations of their par- 
ticles by sublimation, have produced a large family of 
other rocks, bearing specific names. For instance, clink- 
stone belongs to the group, being a combination of felspa. 



THE PRIMARY AND VOLCANIC ROCKS. 4t 

and quartz, and so named because of its ringing sound 
under the hammer. Trachyte and basalt often pass into 
clinkstone, by very gradual transitions. Diallage is 
synonymous with euphotide and gabbro, and is made up 
of euphotide and felspar, with occasional infusions of ser- 
pentine, mica, and quartz. Dolerite is merely another and 
a better name for greenstone (since it is not always re- 
cognized by color) and includes black augite, or hornblende 
and felspar, or augite, felspar and magnetic iron. Felspar 
forms an important ingredient in a great number of rocks. 
It is the base of felspar-porphyry, which contains crystals 
of felspar and quartz. Hornblende is composed mainly of 
black augite and iron, often mixed or imbedded in felspar. 
Hornstone is a species of flint, and only differs from com- 
pact felspar in its action before the blow-pipe. Obsidian is 
another name for lava. It is vitreous, and resembles the 
fracture of glass. Ophite is composed of hornblende and 
telspar, and becomes serpentine by the addition of talc. 
Pearhtone is somewhat similar to obsidian, and is thus 
named from its pearly lustre. FitcJiMone is another name 
for volcanic lava, and is so called from its resinous lustre. 
Porphyry is a stone abounding in large isolated crystals 
of felspar. Pumice is a spongy trachyte. Scoriae is 
volcanic cinder. Serpentine is a green rock, abounding 
in magnesia. Noble serpentine is a transparent mineral, 
sometimes aiffording gems. Syenitic greenstone is com- 
posed of felspar and hornblende. Trachyte is glassy 
felspar. Amygdaloid is so called from its cellular struc- 
ture, the cavities of which are in the shape of almonds. 
In Lake Superior these cavities are often filled with 
chlorite, and sometimes with copper. 

Besides the six or seven principal varieties of the vol- 
canic rocks, it will thus be perceived that there are a 
great number -of subordinate members of the family. 
These, however, only differ from the others in the propor- 
4 



48 THE SECOND DAY — ASTRO-GEOLOGICAL. 

tions with which the original ingredients are united 
And chemical analysis shows that the leading elements in 
all of them were silica, alumina, and magnesia — there 
being comparatively but a trace of lime, potash, and man- 
ganese. Many of them, however, had a large content of 
oxyd of iron, as, for instance, augite, chlorite, diallage, 
epidote, hornblende, hypersthene, mica, olivine, etc. 

It may be suggested that because these rocks had not 
yet assumed the superficial characteristics of continents, 
they do not properly belong to the second day. But if 
they formed vast oceanic reefs, or incipient islands, it was 
sufficient, for Moses did not command the dry land to 
appear until the third day. In using the word dry land, 
he leaves us to infer the previous existence of rocky reefs 
and sub-marine continents ; and because they did not rise 
up in tall cliffs, is no reason that they did not exist as 
rocks, or that they do not belong to this geological era. 
As well, indeed, might the alluvial silt of submerged 
river estuaries be ranked with the primitive rocks upon 
which it lays, as for those rocks to be included with more 
recent formations. 

Again God said : Let there be firmament 

Amid the waters, and let it divide 

The waters from the waters ; and God made 

The firmament, expanse of liquid pure. 

Transparent, elemental air, diffused 

In circuit to the uttermost convex 

Of this great sound -, partition firm and sure, 

The waters underneath from those above 

Dividing ) for as earth, so he the world 

Built on circumfluous waters calm, in wide 

Crystalline ocean, and the loud misrule 

Of Chaos far removed, lest fierce extremes 

Contiguous might distemper the whole frame : 

And heaven he named the firmament: so even 

And morning chorus sung the second day. — Milton, 



COAL AND MINERAL COMBUSTIBLES. 



THE THIRD DAY— GEOLOGICAL. 

9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together 
unto one place, and let the dry land appear : and it was so. 10 And God 
called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters 
called he Seas : and God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, Let 
the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree 
yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth : and 
it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed 
after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after 
his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the 
morning were the third day. 

When Moses lifted the vail which revealed the picture 
of the Third Day, he saw the waters receding from the 
effects of the recent violent convulsions ; and as they 
withdrew, the land gradually emerged, and appeared con- 
spicuously in the scene. The command for the dry land 
to appear was based upon the capability its structure now 
possessed for drainage, and was only the necessary pre- 
liminary for that following, " for the earth or dry land to 
bring forth grass, and herb, and fruit. " 

After the land had thus emerged from the primitive 
seas, another group of strata was immediately commenced. 
This is called the Metamorphic, because the lithological 
nature of the rocks has been changed from an ordinary 
sedimentary to a crystalline, a compact granular, or 
fibrous structure. Beds of limestone were converted into 
white statuary marble, and particles of felspar and mica, 
or quartz and mica, united to form compact gneiss. The 

"(49) 



50 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

heated and agitated waters sweeping around, and per- 
meating the long narrow islands and reefs, wore off their 
jagged edges and incoherent fragments, and carried away 
their comminuted debris into the adjacent seas, lakes, 
rivers, and basins, where they were spread out in thin 
laminae, or rolled into contorted heaps by the motion of 
Hie water and the reciprocal vibration of the floor beneath. 
It was thus that the extensive layers of gneiss, hornblende, 
mica slate, talcose slate, and clay slate were deposited. 
Their position to the previous rocks is unconformable, but 
it is nevertheless easy to pass from them to the volcanic, 
and thence to the primitive rocks below. An 'illustration 
presents itself all along the zone of primitive rocks, pre- 
viously referred to as extending parallel with the Atlantic 
coast, where most of them are adjacent and lead to the 
volcanic, and thence to those of the metamorphic varieties. 
This is owing to the fact that granite and the volcanic 
rocks formed the original reefs and islands, and hence 
now often appear on the summits of mountains, while the 
metamorphic occupy the slopes or the valleys below. 
These valleys, at the time of their deposition, were filled 
with water, and the debris from the islands gradually 
settled at the bottom. Now, although these rocks were 
elevated and changed by heat, it was not by means of 
direct volcanic eruptions, as in the previous case. It was 
by the more gradual expansion of the interior heat, the 
effects of which were felt at the weakest parts. This, 
owing to the pressure of the water, now that it had 
gradually collected into a great body, would be ir the 
vicinity of the islands ; and hence, while the heat was 
constantly baking and solidifying the soft mud in the 
lakes and basins, the islands and the basins themselves 
were gradually rising, higher and higher, from the water. 
In process of time, the water was entirely withdrawn ; 
the vast regions of dry land were redeemed, and the earth 



THE METAMORPHIC ROCKS. 51 

was fully prepared, agreeably to the Divine command, to 
"bring forth grass, and herb, and fruit after his kind." 
And it may be added, that the silt thus exposed furnished 
a prolific soil for this purpose, containing, as it did, all the 
ingredients which the farmer, by the application of 
manures, now infuses into his soil. 

After the deposition of the metamorphic rocks (for- 
merly called the Transition), the earth seems to have 
generated or discharged a large amount of carbonic acid 
gas. It had most likely been generated in its bowels, 
and resulted from the spasmodic explosions of the interior 
heat. This is the more probable, from the fact that it 
has been diminishing in extent from the Paleozoic forma- 
tion down to the present time. If it was the result of 
gaseous explosions during volcanic action, the fissures 
that disruptured the strata of the globe allowed it to es- 
cape in great abundance, and, combining with the air, it 
was ag^in precipitated upon the earth in the form of vege- 
tation, and to the seas in grass, moss, algae, and half- 
vegetable corals and zoophytes. In fact, the beginning 
of organic life appears to have been simultaneous with 
the formation of beds of coal and limestone — the fossil- 
iferous layers of which, alternating with slate, sand, and 
shale, distinct and in combination, comprise the main ingre- 
dients in the rocks known respectively as the Cambrian, 
the Silurian, the Devonian, and the Carboniferous — all 
of which are properly included in a common Paleozoic 
era, since it was begun and terminated by violent convul- 
sions, and occupies a position unconformable alike to the 
preceding and subsequent rocks. This, I am well aware, 
is not the usual classification of geologists ; for although 
it is the system of Conybeare and others, many assign a 
separate era to the old red sandstone and coal, and thus 
directly, as well as by inference, recognize the priority 
of the marine animal life of the Silurian group over the 



52 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

vegetation of the land. Such priority is in conflict with 
the order of nature and the authority of Moses, and I 
have never been able to discover sufficient grounds for its 
support. 

In geological order, what are termed non-fossiliferous 
rocks occupy two distinct formations — the one termed 
Igneous, or Plutonic and volcanic (as previously men- 
tioned), and the other Metamorphic, or stratified. The 
igneous rocks include granite and its varieties as pri- 
maries; and amygdaloid, porphyry, greenstone, and 
basalt as secondaries, or volcanic — all of which, bearing 
the traces of heat, exhibit no parallel lines of stratification. 
The metamorphic group comprises gneiss, hornblende, 
mica, talcose and clay slates ; and although they are 
stratified, it is assumed that none of them contain fossil 
remains — a proposition, so far as traces of vegetation are 
concerned, which I propose hereafter to question. 

The igneous rocks proper, it has already been re- 
marked, form the inclosing rind of the earth. As they 
are, therefore, the immediate result of its primary nebu- 
losity, undergoing the process of refrigeration, condensa- 
tion, and chemical combination, they properly belong to 
the work of the preceding astronomical days. Although 
they had not yet emerged from the water, they neverthe- 
less existed as rocks as fully as those now at the bottom 
of the ocean ; and they therefore belong, not to the day 
that withdrew the water from them, but to the day during 
which they were formed. The metamorphic group is not 
only diS'erent in its origin, but different in structure and 
character. Being the fcEtus which gave birth to organic 
life, it should be included with the Paleozoic formation, 
as the basis upon which to stand. There would, indeed, 
be no more propriety in dating the years, or geological 
eras of the animated earth, from the period of gestation^ 
than there would be in the case of an animal or a humaa 



GIVING OLD THINGS NEW NAMES. 58 

being. Having been elaborated from the abrasion of the 
previous rocks, they exhibit a striking transition from 
them into those of the Paleozoic, and really form the very 
bed upon which life was first introduced on the face of the 
earth. 

The granite and volcanic rocks, therefore, belong to the 
evening of the second day ; while those of the metamor- 
phic introduce us to the morning of the third. This day 
I conceive to be represented by the paleozoic period ; and 
I shall proceed to point out some of the varied phenomena 
which distinguished it. 

The term paleozoic refers to the fossil remains of the 
ancient earth, and is usually applied by geologists to dis- 
tinguish those great systems of fossiliferous rocks, known 
as the Cambrian, the Silurian, the Devonian, and the 
Carboniferous. I .have enlarged its scope so far as to 
include those of the metamorphic, since these rocks form 
the basis of all the others, and very frequently are in- 
truded between them. I should not have assumed this 
freedom (with the respect I entertain for the ancient 
landmarks), had I not good grounds to believe, in addi- 
tion, that tlic}^ were originally fossiliferous, and exhibit 
the metamorphosed remains of a primitive vegetation. 
Some geologists, it is perhaps proper to state, do not 
adopt the word, notwithstanding its peculiar significance 
as applied to a great paleontological formation. Among 
these is Sir Charles Lyell, always great in small things, 
' and sometimes small in great ones, but whose extensive 
travels and amiable literar}^ style entitle his works to all 
the respect they have received. Instead of the word 
Paleozoic, he adopts that of Prlmcu^y — primary fossilifer- 
ous ; but as this word is often applied to the Azoic, or 
non-fossiliferous strata, whose chronological priority none 
will question, its use is only calculated to mislead. Lyell, 
in fact, has invented more words, and made fewer bona 



54 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

fide disccveries in geological science, notwithstanding his 
extensive travels and experience, than any leading geolo- 
gist in Europe or America. The truth is, that the accu- 
mulation of mere words is far in advance of geological 
progress ; and such is the confusion and complication of 
nomenclature among geologists themselves, that it is 
almost impossible to describe or identify strata without 
resorting to technical tautology. The propensity for 
calling old things by new names, invariably betrays the 
weakness of those who indulge it. * 

* I will here step out of my way to notice the most recent and the 
most absurd innovation of geological nomenclature ever attempted. The 
Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, commenced in 1836 and completed in 
1869, is perhaps the most stapenddhs scientific trash ever collected together. 
The Surveyor, in his annual reports to the Legislature, arranged the leading 
geological formations of the State in numerical order. This, although a 
serious annoyance, and the sublimation of impracticable folly, was quietly 
submitted to, and our people in time learned to regard their native rocks 
as " No. 1," or '''No. 2," etc. For my part, I never attempted to master 
this nomenclature, but adhered to the old family names — names which, 
like that of Weller, have long been read of in history ; have, in fact, be- 
come classical in geological literature, and will stand with those of the 
sun and stars in cosmical philosophy. 

After having, for many years, used these numerical terms in all his 
previous annual reports, the official surveyor again presents himself, after 
a long absence (which the geological interests of the State never appear 
to have realized), clothed from head to foot in a new suit of unmeaning 
words. Two thousand heavy, cumbrous pages teem with the words 
Primal, Auroral, Matiual, Levant, Surgent, Scalent, Pre-meridian, Me- 
ridian, Post-meridian, Cadent, Vergent, Poneut, Vespertine, Umbral, 
Serai, etc. These terms, I believe, are based upon the idea of a Paleozoic 
day, and may be supposed to represent the hours. According to his own 
explanation, obscurely inserted in the preface to the first volume, they 
respectively imply the Dawn, Daybreak, Morning, Sunrise, Mounting 
Day, Climbing Day, Forenoon, Noon, Afternoon, Declining Day, De- 
scending Day, Sunset, Evening, Dusk, and Nightfall! Although these 
absurd terms are applied to a Paleozoic Day (a day which, by the way, 
he fails to describe in his report, except so far as pertains to the coal 
formation — for the mere incidental and obscure references to the charac- 
ieristics of the other fossiliferous rocks cannot be regarded as a geological 



GEOLOGY DWINDLING INTO VERBOSITY. 55 

This increasing disposition to embarrass and complicato 
the Natural Sciences should be checked. More time and 
trouble are often wasted in overcoming the barriers of no- 
menclature thus surrounding ideas and facts, than in 
comprehending the naked facts themselves. Words 
should elucidate, not perplex and confound. The old 
geological nomenclature of England is tiiat of the English 
language everywhere. It originated in her mines and 

description), they could, wit;h much more propriety, be applied to geo- 
logical time as a whole — weeks, months, years; in which case granite 
would be Primal ; basalt, amygdaloid, porphyry, and other volcanic roc-ks, 
would be Auroral, or day-breaking rocks; Talc, mica, and the clay slates 
would be Mntinal; the Cambrian group would become Levant, or sun -rise 
rocks; the Silurians would be Sur gent, or mounting-day strata; and the 
Devonian, Sculents, or climbing-day rocks ! The distinction between sun- 
rising, mounting, and climbing, is not very perceptible as applied to 
rocks, but the idea is poetical ! Should another stratum of rocks, inter- 
mediate beticeen these, ever be discovered, their proper appellation would 
be <S'/(ai7-ent, or cmulivg-day rocks. In ascending order, the conglom- 
erates and old red sand.stones of our mountains would belong to the P?-e- 
meridian, or ft)renoon rocks; and the seams of coal lying upon these 
would become Meridian, or noon rocks, — furnishing the material, as they 
might, for cooking the noon meal ! We now descend in the geological 
day, but still conirnxxQ tipward m geological order. The new red sand- 
stone and magnesian limestone, according to this patent adjustible, 
double-acting, reciprocal, and self-revolving nomenclature, ought to be 
the Post-meridian, or afternoon group. Here we enter the great Second- 
ary formation, the lower Triassic precincts of which would be Cadent, or 
declining-day rocks. Next we have what is termed in England the 
Oolitic group, comprising upper, middle, and lower strata, and these, 
with the Liasic, may he Vergent, or descending-day rocks. The differ- 
ence between declining and descending day rocks, would appear to be 
that so long existing between tweedle-dum and twcedle-dee. Still going 
downward in the day, but upward in the geological scale, we arrive at the 
end of the Secondary formation, consisting of several layers of cretaceous 
and fresh-water strata. These are possibly Ponent, or sunset rocks. The 
Eocene beds of the Tertiary are Vespertine, or evening rocks; the Miocene, 
Umhral, or dusk ; and the Pleiocene, Serai, or nightfall rocks. After this, 
we obtain a night's repose, and then awaken early in the morning to the 
modern or present geological day ! 



56 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

quarries, where geological science itself had birth, and 
where it must always flourish in native vigor. Geology, 
indeed, is nothing more nor less than the accumulated ex- 
perience of the miner, aided by the observations of the 
traveler. The shafts that pierce the bowels of the earth 
two thousand feet beneath the surface — the connecting 
gangways, and galleries, and tunnels — -what would have 
been known of the interior crust in the absence of these ? 
They furnish the basis upon which the so-called Geolo- 
gists weave their finely-spun theories and speculations ; 
and they as often provide the data by which they may be 
blown away as bubbles of the air ! 

The paleozoic formation, by the arrangement which I 
propose, includes and begins with the strata of the met- 
amorphic group. These, I have already mentioned, em- 
brace gneiss, hornblende clay, mica slate, talcose schist, 
and clay slate ; i -^^ included among them, and derived 
from them, are va. . us other minerals, bearing individual 
names. Of these we may mention talcose gneiss, a strati- 
fied talcose granite ; tahiose schist, consisting of quartz 
and talc, or talc and felspar ; quartz, consisting of silicious 
grains, stratified ; crystalline limestone, or marble ; mica 
schist, or slate, consisting of laminated mica and quartz ; 
hornblende gneiss, comprising felspar, quartz, and horn- 
blende ;. chlorite schist, abounding in scales of chlorine ; 
chiastolite, similar to ordinary clay slate, but including 
slender rhomboidal crystals of chiastolite ; actinolite, a 
foliated slate, containing more or less felspar, quartz, or 
mica. The composition of gneiss is precisely similar to 
that of granite ; but being stratified and laminated, the 
different mineral ingredients, instead of being thoroughly 
intermixed, are disseminated in irregular parallel seams. 
The group, in fact, embraces very nearly the same ma- 
terial as those of the preceding plutonic and volcanic for- 
mation, the main difference being in stratification. Marble, 



IRON AND COPPER OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 57 

or crystalline limestone, unknown to the previous groups, 
makes its first appearance among these strata, and dis- 
tinguishes every subsequent geological formation, either 
as marble or ordinary limestones. I have already called 
attention to the content of oxyd of iron in the previous 
rocks. They nearly all contain more or less, v^rhile a few 
have as high as from twenty to forty per cent. It rarely 
occurs, however, in large deposits, or in a state of very 
great purity in those rocks ; but their disintegration, 
during the metamorphic period, permitted the earthy ma- 
terial with which it was united, to escape and to be 
carried away by the water, leaving the iron behind to ac- 
cumulate in large layers and deposits, which it could 
readily do from its high specific gravity. The great iron 
and copper regions of Lake Superior, running close 
together, and nearly parallel with each other for more 
than one hundred miles, are surrounded by primitive or 
igneous rocks ; but the mineral lodes often traverse 
sedimentary rocks which have been altered by the trap 
dykes that ramify the entire formation. The copper often 
occurs in a state of absolute purity, while the iron is little 
inferior, yielding from sixty to seventy-four per cent, of 
metallic iron in the furnace. Both these minerals must 
have been sublimated in the Plutonic rocks that surround 
them. The copper, from its metallic purity, must have 
been injected in a liquid state, like that tapped from a 
smelting furnace, and thus forced between the strata and 
through the cavities and pores of the overlying sediment- 
ary ro£ks, all of which became metamorphosed and very 
much disturbed and contorted by the operating heat. 
But before the copper was injected, it is probable that the 
iron of the adjacent region had been collected together in 
\he bottom of a lake, having been precipitated as an oxyd 
apon the evaporation of the water of the seas during the 
second day, while the heat accompanying the volcanic 



58 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

dykes no doubt served to change the sedimentary char- 
acter of the rocks themselves, and to sublimate both the 
minerals at nearly, if not the same time. Phenomena some- 
what similar will also account satisfactorily for the origin of 
the great iron deposits of the Pilot KJnob in Missouri ; that 
of Cornwall in Pennsylvania, and of Lake Champlain in 
New York. Indeed, so far as aqueous action is concerned, 
all the deposits of haematite (hydrous oxyd of iron) found 
in metamorphic rocks, have undergone a process not much 
dissimilar, hence their purity and comparative freedom 
from extraneous substances. 

As to the fossiliferous character of the metamorphic 
rocks, I shall have some remarks to offer hereafter, in 
connection with the coal formation. In the mean time, I 
may here observe that plumbago and anthracite occur to 
some extent in them, and I regard this fact as sufficient ta 
establish the previous existence of vegetation, the remains 
of which have been nearly obliterated in consequence of 
the heat which metamorphosed them. 

Immediately above the metamorphic group is that de- 
nominated the Cambrian, after a district in Wales, in 
which they were first noticed. There strata, however, 
are not unfrequently distinguished as the "lower Silu- 
rian"— a name derived from the ancient Sylures of 
Britain, the applicability of which to geology, like a great 
many other terms, is not very apparent. It is a marine 
formation, consisting of slates, lime, and sand, variously 
intermixed, but generally in separate layers. Some of 
these are fossiliferous, affording specimens of coral and 
molluscan brachiopoda. The upper, or Silurian proper, 
is not very dissimilar in lithological character, but is 
much more prolific in marine fossils, principally mol- 
luscous. Fish, so called, but partaking more of the nature 
of lizards, first appear in this era ; while corals, serpula, 
and trilobites are abundant. 



PRACTICAL VALUE OF ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCE. 59 

The aggregate thickness of these rocks varies from six 
to ten thousand feet, and they cover very extensive areas 
both in Europe and America. In the United States the 
Cambrian or lower Silurian rocks extend in a continuous 
and gradually expanding belt from the State of Alabama, 
northeast through Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, 
"Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York. They form the 
north shore of Lake Ontario, and thence pass along the 
St. Lawrence river, on both sides, to Montreal and 
Quebec, and finally disappear in the Gulf of the St. Law- 
rence. They also cover a vast region of country in Wis- 
consin and the British possessions north of the Kocky 
Mountains. Detached deposits occur on the Ohio river 
below Louisville, and near Nashville, Tennessee, and are 
generally prolific in their characteristic fossils. The 
upper Silurian strata are still more extensive. Arkansas, 
Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, and New York, have more or 
less of surface covered with them ; while all the lakes, 
except that of Superior, are nearly surrounded by them 
The beautiful white sandstone and fossiliferous limestone 
so extensively used for building purposes in Detroit, Chi- 
cago, Cincinnati, and St. Louis, are characteristic of this 
group of rocks. They are also very plentifully distributed 
in Russia and Siberia, in England and Wales, and more 
sparingly in isolated patches in France, Germany, Portu- 
gal, and Prussia. They occur to some extent in the East 
Indies, along the River Ganges, and the southeastern 
portion of Bengal. In Australia these rocks form long 
belts, rising parallel with and often including the gold 
region. 

Rocks of the Silurian group are cut through and hand- 
somely exposed at the celebrated Falls of Niagara. They 
not only form the perpendicular shores of that river and 
of the adjacent lakes, but extend all over the surround- 
ing country, in some directions for hundreds of miles. 



60 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

The valley of the Niagara river, some fourteen miles be- 
tween the two lakes of Erie and Ontario, was originally 
much wider than it is now. The terraces of the ancient 
shores of the stream are plainly discernible ; and they 
abound with shells of Unio, Gyclas, Valvata, Planorbis, 
and Helix, all of recent species. Beyond these terraces 
are others, still more ancient ; and there is good ground 
to believe, from the sand, gravel, and mud distributed 
over the surface, that the adjacent lakes, at a period not 
very remote in geological time, extended all over the sur- 
rounding plains. 

Attention was first directed* to these falls by a French 
missionary, named Hennepin, in 16t8. The French ex- 
plored the whole country from the Gulf of the St. Law- 
rence to the head of Lake Superior, and held possession 
of it at the time that the English planted their Colonies 
in America. Hennepin wrote a short account of the 
cataract, and accompanied it with maps of the lakes, and 
a pictorial sketch of the Falls. According to this sketch 
there were at that period three distinct cataracts. In 
addition to the " American" and the " Horse-shoe" Falls, 
there was then one which might be called the " Table- 
Rock" Falls, because it was evidently in that vicinity. 
This latter cataract was occasioned by an obstruction in 
the Rapids, which diverted the water around the Horse- 
shoe Falls, and hurled it over the precipice at the Table- 
Rock, which is directly opposite the American Falls. 
Table-Rock is traversed by fissures and cracks which 
permit the periodical detachment of fragments ; and the 
shores of the river below are strewn with the masses thus 
worn off. 

The Falls of Niagara are precipitated over a stratum 
of limestone eighty feet thick, and a stratum of argilla- 
ceous shale, under the limestone, also eighty feet thick. 
The perpendicular descent of the water is therefore about 



GEOLOGICAL FEATURES OF NIAGARA PALLS. 61 

one hundred and forty feet. The Hmestone contains nu- 
merous cavities filled with sulphate of lime, sometimes 
called selenite, alabaster, or gypsum. These nodules of 
alabaster, varying in size from a walnut to a cocoanut, 
are extensively used by the lapidists at the Falls in the 
production of carved ornaments, which are sold to trav- 
elers to commemorate their visit to the place. The 
underlying shale contains a large amount of iron pyrites, 
the decomposition of which, on exposure to the air, has- 
tens the disintegration of the rock. Now, the violent 
whirling and agitation of the water below, as it falls over 
the precipice, wears away the crumbling shale, and thus 
undermines the stratum of limestone. It is in conse- 
quence of this wearing away of the shale that visitors are 
enabled to pass under the Falls. But owing to the pecu- 
liar cellular structure of the bed of limestone, the under- 
mining process cannot extend beyond a certain limit 
without producing fractures, which are materially ex- 
tended by the weight and velocity of the water. Large 
masses of rock are therefore detached, from time to time, 
and the gradual retrogression of the cataract is thus 
rendered certain, and plain to our comprehension. 

The extent of this erosion and retrogression was esti- 
mated by the celebrated Mr. Bollewell, in 1830, as equal 
to an average of one yard per annum. It is supposed that 
the original site of the falls was at Queenston, seven miles 
below ; and if so, the erosion, at the annual average esti- 
mated, would have occupied about 12,000 years. Sir 
Charles Lyell, however, made a careful examination of 
the Falls and of the country around it, during his visit to 
America in 1841. He estimated the erosion atone foot 
per year, according to which it would have required 
3G,000 years for the Falls to change their original for 
their present location. 

If the reader has ever passed over the waters of Lake 
6 



62 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

Huron or St. Clair, or over the great western railway of 
Canada, from Toronto to Detroit, he will remember the 
vast marshy flats that encompass those waters. As far 
as the eye can see, there is often nothing but these flats. 
They just emerge sufficiently above the level of the water 
to support a rank, long-bladed grass. Millions and 
millions of acres of land, flat as the surface of the lakes, 
are thus ramified and encircled by the water ; but their 
rank vegetation gradually raises the surface higher and 
higher, and in time the land will be wholly redeemed from 
the dominion of the water. Now all the praries of the 
great West were once in the condition of these lake flats. 
They have been redeemed from primitive lakes and seas 
by vegetation — the mould and lime of which constitute 
their characteristic agricultural fertility. 

That the surface of the ancient seas and lakes has 
been gradually reduced, and the water emptied into narrow 
river channels, will be very apparent to the geological 
observer in traveling through the South and West. The 
Yalley of the Mississippi was once a series of great lakes, 
covering the adjacent Silurian country for hundreds of 
miles around ; and these basins were finally drained in the 
manner just described. An illustration of the diminution 
of the water, as well as of the ceaseless economy of nature 
in the formation of rocks, may be observed on the shores 
of Lake Ontario. Standing by the water's edge you will 
see the larger pebbles coated with innumerable parasitic 
pebbles, varying from a pin's head to particles as large as 
chestnuts. These are joined together by a cement of lime 
held in solution by the water. As the small pebbles are 
rolled up on the shore, the limy concretion attaches them 
to the larger stones ; and when the lake is ruffled by 
Btorms, the excited waves roll in larger pebbles, and they 
are thus intermixed with the sand and cement, and all 
united together. The result of this operation is the for- 



FORMATION OF CONGLOMERATE ROCKS. 63 

mation of beds of conglomerate rock ; and on casting jour 
eye up to the ancient terraces vou perceive beds of such 
rocks, varying from ten to one hundred feet in thickness. 
You thus perceive not only the gradual withdrawal of the 
Avater from the shores of the lake, but also the whole 
mechanical process of the origin of its rocky strata. In 
time all these lakes v/ill dwindle into mere rivers, and the 
adjacent flats will become teeming prairies like those of 
Illinois. 

Next above the Silurians, we have another group, 
scarcely less extensive, either in bulk or geographical dis- 
tribution. In England it is called the Devonian system, 
after a county in which it furnishes the prevailing rocks. 
It is, however, more generally and familiarly known to 
the public through two of its most important representa- 
tives — the Old Red Sandstone and the Carboniferous or 
mountain limestone. It is almost useless to mention 
special localities, for they are strewn all over the world 
in one form or another. They occur in great abundance 
on the western slope of the Ural Mountains, and far 
interior from the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in 
Russia. They encircle and underlie all the coal fields of 
England, Scotland, Wales, Grermany, France, and indeed 
nearly every coal basin on continental Europe. The old 
red sandstone of Caithness and Cromarty, in Scotland, has 
been clothed with geological interest, from the explorations 
and poetical descriptions of the late Hugh Miller. In 
some respects he was a geologist in the fullest sense of 
the term ; in others he was quite the reverse. He always 
spoke of the rocks, however, with the enthusiasm of an 
investigator, and the familiarity of one who loved them. 
The old red sandstone, wherever it occurs throughout the 
civilized world, will form an enduring monument to his 
memory. I shall probably have occasion, in the subse- 
quent pages of this book, to combat some of his latest 
5 



64 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAIi. 

geologico-theological propositions, inasmuch as they are 
in conflict with divine revelation ; but I may say here, in 
advance, that I entertain the highest regard for his 
memory, and whatever remarlcs I shall address to his 
writings, must be understood as applying to the school 
of geologists still living, of which he was an ornament 
and a literary expounder. 

In the United States, the rocks of this group constitute 
the rim or boundaries of coal basins — hence the universal 
use of the term "basin" as applied to coal. The forma- 
tion of these basins or lakes, did not differ materially from 
those of the metamorp-i'c and Silurian eras, nor yet from 
those now existing. AVhile, however, the others were all 
marine, and directly appertained to the primitive seas, 
those of the Devonian period were sometimes inland, 
(like those of lakes Superior, Huron, or Erie,) and some- 
times marine, like the great basin of the Gulf of Mexico ; 
and again, partaking of the alternate nature of both, like 
the estuaries formed by great rivers where their waters 
are emptied into the ocean. During the period now in 
question, by far the largest portions of Europe, Africa, 
and Asia were still under the dominion of the sea. In 
Europe, portions of England, France, Prussia, Austria, 
and Turkey, were still submerged ; but the greater part 
of Russia proper had been redeemed by the Silurians, 
while the whole of Lapland, Finland, Norway, and 
Sweden, had appeared during the metamorphic era. In 
Africa, the whole country fromthe great desert of Sahara 
south to the Cape of Good Hope, had already emerged 
from the sea; but the great desert itself remained a desert 
of water until after the Tertiary formation. So in Asia, 
nearly the whole surface of Tartary, and the vast region 
in Siberia, east of the Ural Mountains, and bordering the 
Arctic Ocean, were unreclaimed until the dawn of the 
modem geological era. 



AMERICA THE OLDEST CONTINENT. 65 

Although America is popularly termed the new world, 
geology proves it to be of much greater antiquity than 
either of the other geographical divisions of the earth. 
By far the largest portion of it had appeared during the 
metamorphic era ; and at that time it comprised at least 
twice as much surface as Europe, Asia, and Africa com- 
bined. All that portion now comprising the coast line of 
the Pacific, in South America — or more properly, all that 
belt of country, comprising the mountain system of the 
Andes, and traversing nearly the whole length of South 
America, parallel with, and from sixty to one hundred and 
thirty miles from the coast line, — had been elevated 
during the primary eras. From Terra del Fuego, north 
through Chili, Peru, Ecuador, New Grenada, and Yene- 
zuela, and thence over the narrow strait separating the 
two oceans, to the range of Rocky Mountains (a mere 
continuation of the Andes, their geological structure being 
similar;) thence northwest through California, Oregon, 
and Washington, to Russian America, where the forma- 
tion greatly expands, and finally sinks into the ocean — 
all this vast region had been elevated during the primary 
epochs of geology. And it may be added that volcanic 
action is still occasionally aroused, not only in the Andes, 
where the loftiest volcanic peaks in the world are to be 
found, but all along the coast, and even amid the wide 
expanse of waters ; and such action is still gradually but 
certainly making new acquisitions of territory. Indeed, 
a large extent of country, east of the Andes, passing 
through Patagonia, Buenos Ayres, Bolivia, and the 
western part of Brazil, has been reclaimed from the ocean 
since the Tertiary period. The country drained by the 
Amazon and its tributaries, is generally alluvial, and has 
been converted into dry land within the modern era of 
geology — the whole of that vast domain — larger than tho 
States of New York, Pennsylvania, Yirginia, and Ohio, 



66 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

combined — having previously been occupied by lakes 
emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. The largest portion 
of Brazil, however — that lying along the Atlantic, and 
for the most part drained by the river La Plata — is of 
primitive origin, as are also the larger portions of Guiana 
and Yenezuela ; — but, with these exceptions, nearly the 
whole remaining surface was submerged until within a 
period comparatively recent. The vast expanse of terri- 
tory north of lake Superior, and indeed all around 
Hudson's Bay, is likewise anterior to the Devonian era ; 
and with the exception of the prairie regions of the West, 
already mentioned, it may be safely assumed that most of 
the states comprising our confederate cluster, were still 
covered over by the sea, or with great interior lakes 
emptying into, and liable to be invaded by the sea, during 
the deposition of the Devonian rocks. 

Now during the particular geological era we are con- 
sidering, there was a small basin running from the Rio 
Grand river, in the southern part of Texas, northeast to 
the Bed river. This basin at one time received the 
waters of both these streams, besides those of the upper 
Colorado and Brazos, which now pass through it to the 
Gulf of Mexico. Coal is found at both ends of it ; and 
when it was finally elevated, its waters were discharged 
in the rivers now flowing through and around it. Another 
basin is traversed by the Arkansas river, further east, 
and lying in the state thus named. Another, larger and 
better defined than either, occurs in Iowa and Missouri, 
into which the Missouri river originally emptied, and 
through the western boundary of which it now passes. 
A fourth basin, still larger and better developed, is in the 
state of Illinois, the capital of the state being very nearly 
in the centre. This great Imsin received the waters of 
the Missouri, those of the upper Mississippi, of the river 
Illinois, of the Ohio, the Tennessee, and many other 



COAL BASINS OP UNITED STATES. 6T 

smaller ones. It was a great basin, and considerably larger 
than our existing lake Superior. Further north, bounded 
on the west by the entire length of lake Michigan, and 
on the northeast by lake Huron, is a fifth basin, not so large 
nor so well defined as the last mentioned ; but indicating, 
from its proximity to the existing lakes, their former exten- 
sion over the Devonian rocks that are now intermediate 
between them. The last, and by far the largest basin, is 
that comprising the Alleghany Mountains, beginning in 
the southwest on the head waters of the Mobile river, in 
the state of Alabama, and in the northwest on the Ten- 
nessee river (very nearly adjoining the Illinois basin,) 
and thence running northeast with the Alleghany Moun- 
tains, through Kentucky, Yirginia, Maryland, and Penn- 
sylvania, and finally terminating in a broad expanse in the 
state of New York. A sixth, but very small basin, occurs 
in Rhode Island, connected with the sea by a broad inlet ; 
and another, or rather several of them, in the British 
Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince 
Edward's Island. These latter basins literally sink into 
the ocean and reappear in the island mentioned. All the 
basins thus enumerated contain coal. 

The same means by which the waters of lake Ontario 
are daily forming conglomerate rocks, and strewing them 
in layers on its shores, were in operation, though on a 
much larger scale, during this Devonian period. The 
great bulk of the rocks comprise conglomerates and sand- 
stones, interstratified with layers of slate and shale, and 
concretionary and blue crystalline limestones. In many 
instances the limestones are wanting ; or where they occur 
the conglomerates are omitted, or appear in thin layers. 
No limestone (or but a very small and impure seam) exists 
in the Devonian rocks underlying the anthracite coal 
basins ; and very little is found in those of the bituminous, 
east of Pittsburg. This singular fact may be accounted 



68 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

for in this way : The Alleghany basin comprised many 
subordinate ones, communicating with each other, like 
those of Superior, Huron, Michigan, and Erie. Lying 
adjacent to the main chain of basins, were several outliers, 
like that of lake Michigan. . These outlying basins are 
those of the anthracite coal regions ; another is the semi- 
anthracite of Broad Top, further west ; and another is that 
of Cumberland, in Maryland. These are all on the eastern 
slope of the Alleghany, while the main basins now occupy 
the summits of that mountain or its western slope. The 
northeastern terminus of the Devonian rocks was origi- 
nally surrounded by those of the igneous formation. 
Their debris was drained into these lakes, the waters of 
which held silex in suspension. The fragments of rock, 
as they were moved about by the water, became rounded 
and angular, and were finally deposited in layers, and 
cemented together by the silicious secretion of the water. 
The vast beds of conglomerate rock and coarse sandstone, 
underlying the anthracite coal, were formed in this 
manner ; and the whole process is exactly similar to that 
now daily illustrated on the shores of lake Ontario. 
While the larger pebbles were thus converted into rocks, 
the smaller ones were hurried on from one basin to 
another by the current of the water ; and the fine sand 
went still further. This gradation from a coarse to a finer 
conglomerate, and thence to ordinary sandstone, is beauti- 
fully illustrated in the coal measures. The thickness of 
the rocks also diminishes with the extent the debris was 
transported. The conglomerate of the anthracite basins 
are much thicker than the same strata elsewhere, while 
toward the southwestern termination of the Alleghany 
basin, they scarcely occur at all, or when they do, it is in 
the form of sandstone. The conglomerate having been 
mainly retained by the upper basins, and especially by 
those of the anthracites, where it originated, its deficiency 



DEVONIAN BASINS AND RIVERS. 69 

in those below, was supplied by layers of limestone, which 
increase in thickness, south westward from Pittsburg, 
with the decrease of the silicious rocks. There was thus 
a reciprocal movement between the two ends of the great 
basins — one supplying silicious, and the other calcareous 
matter to the water. The limestones embrace two kinds.; 
that called the concretionary was abstracted from the 
disintegration of the adjacent Silurian rocks, which formed 
the rims of all the basins below Pittsburg ; — while the 
blue crystalline was derived partly from the influx of the 
sea into the lower basins, and partly from the calcareous 
belt washed down from those above. These limestones 
are remarkable for their cavernous structure, and their 
mineral ores. The celebrated Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, 
and (I believe) those of Weyer and Madison, in Virginia, 
are in rocks of this group. All of them abound in sta- 
lactites of the most beautiful and picturesque form. In 
the vicinity of Galena, in Illinois, these rocks contain 
lead ; and in other places, besides that mineral, they afford 
copper, zinc, manganese, and iron. 

It may be observed, that while the anthracite basins were 
at the head of the others, they were also the deepest, and 
hence required a great deal more earthy material to fill 
them up. Lake Superior is likewise the largest and 
deepest of all those below it — while St. Clair and Erie 
are the smallest and the shallowest. Superior is 1000, 
Huron 900, Ontario 600, and Erie but 20 feet deep. In 
time, Erie will be so far filled up that its present bottom 
will become like the St. Clair flats, and its main current 
will ultimately degenerate into a mere river, similar to that 
of the Detroit, the St. Mary's, or the St. Lawrence. It 
must be borne in mind, that these Devonian lakes drained 
the surrounding country, in the same manner as exist- 
ing lakes and rivers, and therefore it is highly probable 
that, before the elevation of the Alleghany Mountains, and 



70 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

while the sea was still undulating over the country now 
comprising Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and part of 
Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, and nearly the whole of Ne- 
braska, Kansas, and the Indian reservations, the whole 
system of drainage was in that direction, that is, west and 
southwestward, and all the adjacent country, including 
the coal basins of Illinois, Missouri, and the lower Alle- 
ghany, were, from time to time, invaded by the sea. In 
fact, the whole interior region between Canada on the 
north, the New England States on the east ; Georgia and 
the Carolinas on the south, and the Rocky Mountains on 
the west, was a vast shallow marine gulf, scarcely inferior 
to that of Mexico, receiving the drainage of the metamor- 
phic country, previously elevated in the north, east, and 
west. The Silurians had afterward converted much of 
this great basin into land ; but I beg the reader to under- 
stand that, by far the largest portion of it, during the De- 
vonian period we are now describing, was still under water, 
while the flat marshy land itself, was constantly liable to 
inundation from oceanic tides, storms, and crust oscillations. 
This fact sufficiently understood, the reader will readily 
comprehend the phenomena to which I will presently 
invite his attention — phenomena, the solution of which, 
constitute the most difficult problems in theoretical Ge- 
ology. 

After the Devoliian basins began to fill up, and their 
broad margins had already been converted into marshy 
flats, precisely similar to those of St. Clair, vegetation 
flourished immediately in the most extraordinary luxu- 
riance — the resinous juices of which, by a process of fer- 
mentation and combustion hereafter to be described, were 
subsequently converted into layers of mineral coal. But 
before I enter upon a description of the origin of coal, it 
is expedient here to attend to some other matters as a pre- 
liminary step. We shall therefore defer further remarks 



SYSTEM OP DEVONIAN LAKES. 11 

on this point, to consider briefly the paleontology of the 
rocks we have thus far encountered, or rather that portion 
comprising fossil botany ; for although the Silurians and 
Devonian systems afford specimens of Zoophytes and Mol- 
lusca, and in some regions fish of a peculiar type, they may 
more properly be reviewed in the Fifth Day. The reptiles 
and land animals — foot-prints of which are supposed to 
have been found as low down as the Silurians — will also 
receive attention ; but in the mean time, we may premise 
that vegetation constitutes the pre vailing characteristic of the 
era under consideration, and that whatever animals existed 
were of a low and humble type, and confined to the sea 
altogether. The theory of land animals, of rain-drops, 
sun cracks, and other visions of the geologists, as referred 
to the Devonian rocks, we shall show to be in direct con- 
flict with the Bible, and to have not the shadow of founda- 
tion in fact. It will then be demonstrated, what few ge- 
ologists have yet conceded, that vegetation necessarily 
preceded animal life on the earth, agreeably to the Mosaic 
requirement. 

Now, the vegetation of the metamorphic rocks must 
have consisted mainly of flowerless grasses, perhaps not 
dissimilar to that which flourishes spontaneously over the 
St. Clair flats, and along the marshy bottoms of rivers and 
oceans. The great heat and moisture of that period, must 
have added very materially to their growth ; while the 
subsequent metamorphism of the inclosing rocks, con- 
verted the grass into a species of impure coal, and thence 
into earthy plumbago. It is because of the heat to which 
all these rocks were exposed, that all traces of vegetable 
structure have been obliterated ; but the coal and plum- 
bago themselves evince an unmistakable vegetable origin. 

The oldest fossiliferous rock yet discovered in the United 
States (or in Europe), is supposed to be what is called, in 
New York, the Potsdam sandstone, because of its occurrence 



*12 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

at a town of that name. It extends from that state to 
Michigan and Wisconsin ; and though its lithological 
nature varies considerably, it is believed to be well identi- 
fied. It belongs to the lovv^er Silurian group. While it 
contains a few marine shells, it also affords specimens of 
fossil plants— (ScoZ^'^/iws linearis) and occasional fragments 
of anthracite. Finding the flora and the fauna of the an- 
cient earth thus associated in rocks of the same age, we 
may safely assume, for the present, the anteriority of the 
one over the other. But it may be objected that the 
grasses, the remains or fossil impressions of which are 
thus found, are algae or aqueous plants, and do not there- 
fore constitute the " dry land" vegetation of Moses. It so 
happens that we can afford to dispense with all such ma- 
rine plants, and present something more tangible and for- 
midable. 

In casting our eye over the innumerable basins of coal, 
lignite, asphalt, bitumen, pitch, and various other combus- 
tible substances imbedded in the rocks of the earth, nothing 
could more astonish us, than their seeming identity and 
similarity of origin, under circumstances of extreme litho- 
logical diversity. While the combustibles themgelves all 
point to a common vegetable source, they yet exhibit the 
most singular and variable diversity in their geological 
positions, in their degrees of mineralization, their density, 
purity, and inflammable properties, as well as in the local 
circumstances attending their deposition, and their geo- 
graphical distribution. 

There is hardly a state or kingdom on the face of the 
earth that is not provided with these substances, in one 
form or another ; and the reason of this universal distri- 
bution may be found in the fact, not generally recognized 
or considered, that coal, with its characteristic deviations 
of quality, has been produced in every successive forma- 
tion from the metamorphic rocks to those of the Tertiary 



THE MET AMORPHIC VEaETATION. T3 

— extending even to the present time, and is, without 
doubt, still undergoing the slow processes of conversion 
from an immature state to that reserved for it hereafter in 
the undeviating economy of Nature. It is not to be sup- 
posed that those who come after us are to be left without 
fuel I Their harvest is maturing, while ours is being con- 
sumed. 

The " dry land" of the metamorphic and Silurian eras 
having appeared on the morning of the Third Day, the 
earth began at once to bring forward its vegetation. This 
consisted, as I before remarked, of flowerless plants, de- 
nominated Agamice (or concealed marriage). And it is a 
singular coincidence, which should not escape observa- 
tion, that no means of fructification have been discovered 
in this species — hence the name. Now, while Moses 
speaks of the ^^ seeds of the herb and the fruit as being 
within themselves in the earth," he says nothing of the 
reproductive organs of the Agamice, or grasses, but allows 
us to infer their spontaneous growth from the dry land 
itself. And such would appear to be the fact. The earth 
must have contained within itself the germ that gave 
vitality to these grasses, leaving the " herbs and fruits" to 
reproduce themselves by means of fructiferous seeds. 
Brongniart says of the Agamice, that it is a term which 
only expresses our ignorance — but that the class com- 
prises the different families confounded under the names 
of algoe, fungi, and lichens. They may be described as 
forming cellular tissue, or interlacing tubular filaments, 
without vessels properly so called ; they never present 
true leaves, and their organs of reproduction consist only 
of very fine seedlings, which appear to develop them- 
selves without fecundation, and are immediately inclosed 
in membranous conceptacles, analogous to the filaments 
of that tissue which composes the whole of the plant. 
The only fossil plants of this class known, are some con- 



*Ii THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

fervce (slender weeds), and several algce (water-grass and 
sea- weed). Tiiese weeds or grasses are plentifully dis- 
tributed in the shales of the old red sandstone.* They are 
of rarer occurrence in the Silurian strata, and have never 
been found in those of the metamorphic. The extreme 
delicacy of their structure, however, will readily account 
for their omission in these rocks. It was only under cir- 
cumstances of repose and quiet, such as generall}- marked 
the deposition of the soft shales and mud of the Devonian 
strata, and those underlying the coal seams, that their 
preservation in a fossil state could be secured. I have 
several specimens of both these grasses in my collection ; 
and I have seen thousands of them, all tangled up, upon 
slabs of slate around the coal mines. Their general 
structure, 1 repeat, is very similar to the rank marshy 
grasses that flourish on the flats of St. Clair. 

In Rhode Island and Massachusetts there is a coal 
basin of considerable extent, which occupies a geological 
position among the upper strata of the metamorphic 
group. The coal, no doubt originally very impure, has 
been completely destroyed in consequence of the heat to 
which the inclosing rocks were exposed, and the con- 
tortions and twisting which they sufifered in their ele- 
vation. 

" In the course of two miles of the cliffs of the east coast, 
the conglomerate beds are six times thrown up, and as often 
descend below the tide level. Then . occur a numerous 
suite of twisted and contorted schists, of gray laminated 
slates, whose surfaces singularly resemble the grain of 
bird's-eye maple ; and again, another series of green, tal- 
cose, contorted schists, crowded with crystals of iron 
pyrites ; crossed in every direction by innumerable veins 
of white quartz, and succeeded by compacter beds, which 
almost possess the qualities of sandstone. Perpendicular 
upthrows and heaves, and again the reverse movements, 



MET AMORPHIC COAL OP RHODE ISLAND. 75 

divide tlie whole series into large and separate sections, 
rising above or sinking below water level. The inclina- 
tion of the respective masses is continuallv changing. To 
the rocks we have enumerated succeed a melange of meta- 
morphic slates, of gray fissile beds, of conglomerate, 
quartz veins, and black shales ; of veins and filons of 
asbestos, and of talcose laminated strata ; undulating, frac- 
tured, contorted, inverted — in short, disposed with such 
absence of order as to defy the pen and pencil of the 
geologist to delineate. * * There are many features 
here that have no parallel in our ordinary Secondary 
(Paleozoic ?) coal fields. Among these are the vast as- 
semblage of talcose waving slates ; the veins and seams of 
asbestos, abundant even among the coal shales, and occa- 
sionally penetrating the anthracite coal itself; the quartz 
veins also in the coal ; the unusual appearance of vege- 
table remains on these greenish-gray, schistose laminae ; 
the traversing veins of white crj'stalline quartz, and the 
plumbaginous nature of nearly all the out-crops of coal. 
* * There are three coal seams proved on the western 
side, occurring at a distance of ninety feet from each 
other, and dipping at an angle of 38° to the centre. 
Toward their out-crops, all the strata evince the effects of 
great pressure and squeezing ; producing corresponding 
irregularities in the thickness of the coal beds."* 

This formation extends into the neighboring state of 
Massachusetts. Its plumbaginous character throughout, 
is not devoid of interest. f At Wrentham, in Massachu- 
setts, are several seams of highly plumbaginous coal. At 
Mansfield, Dr. Jackson mentions a bed of coal which 
" was found to have been altered, and was like graphite 
or plumbago." At some recent openings in Rhode Island, 

* R. C. TajloT.—Statistics of Coal. 
■j- Geological Survey of Massachusetts. 



Y6 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

the coal lias been observed to pass either wholly or parti- 
ally into graphite. It is remarkably light, spongy, and 
cellular (showing the effects of heat), and forms an article 
of sale, under the name of British Lustre. Asbestos occurs 
abundantly, running through the slates which adjoin the 
coal or graphite bed. 

Notwithstanding the overwhelming indications of the 
metamorphic origin of this coal, some geologists of dis- 
tinction are disposed to rank it with those lying upon the 
Devonian rocks. There are, however, some exceptions ; 
but how any one of ordinary practical geological acumen 
can assign it a position so high up, with all the rocks of 
the previous group in and around it, is a mystery to 
me. The whole formation is surrounded by granite, and 
the veins of coal themselves are traversed by asbestos, 
talcose schists, and other true metamorphic rocks ; while 
the changed condition of the coal indicates the heat to 
which it was exposed. 

Nor is this a solitary example of metamorphic coal. 
There are many such formations in different quarters of 
the earth ; and were the coal which they afford of any 
commercial value — were it not converted, as it often is, 
into other substances, by the heat which contorted, twist- 
ed, and uptilted the strata, there is little doubt but that 
the necessities or the cupidity of man would long since 
have revealed and explored many other regions that now 
slumber in the original obscurity of their primitive basins. 

Some of the anthracite basins of France, Ireland, and 
Sweden, are in rocks analogous in age and character, to 
those of Rhode Island. Throughout the greater part of 
Scandinavia, comprising Sweden, Norway, Lapland, and 
portions of Finland, the metamorphic and igneous rocks 
abound. In the midst of them occur basins of anthracite, 
and in some cases, the coal is found lying on the gneiss 
rock, with the characteristic metamorphic slates above. 



METAMORPHIC COAL IN SCANDINAVIA. 11 

The coal, of course, is often changed into graphite, like 
that of Rhode Island; while fragments are not unfre- 
quently disseminated in the adjacent slates. 

But while the coal is thus found in the metamorphic 
rocks, we must not overlook the important fact that these 
are always in their true geological position — that is, in 
immediate proximity to the granite and igneous rocks. If, 
indeed, they occurred in the regular Devonian or the Silurian 
group their metamorphic character would of course be se- 
riously compromised ; — but it so happens that the containing 
rocks of the coal rest on the preceding igneous and gran^ 
ite rocks, and there is thus established a regular geological 
order. This is particularly the case in Scandinavia, where 
it has before been remarked, that the igneous rocks largely 
predominate. It is scarcely less so in Khode Island and 
Massachusetts — the adjacent state of New Hampshire, 
being celebrated as the " old Granite State." Indeed, the 
entire surface of New England, with the exception of a por- 
tion of Connecticut, is covered by the primitive rocks ; and it 
is over these that the coal basin of Khode Island occurs in 
regular superimposed order. The same primitive rocks ex- 
tend parallel with the Atlantic coast, from Maine to Geor- 
gia; and both anthracite and black lead are found in them, 
at different places. The coal basin near Richmond, in Vir- 
ginia, although resting on granite, is a recent deposit. 
A series of volcanic dikes, during the era of the New Red 
Sandstone, metamorphosed a small upper seam of the 
coal in this basin, and converted it into coke. The great 
bulk of the coal below, however, was unaffected, in conse- 
quence of the heat having been confined to the surface alone. 

Inasmuch as the formation of coal from the vegetation 
of the Paleozoic period, or Third Day, constitutes its dis- 
tinguishing feature, it may be considered advisable to 
dwell somewhat minutely on it& interesting phenomena — 
especially in view of the fact, that it fotms debatable 



78 THE THIUD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

ground in reconciling the accuracy of the Mosaic cosmog- 
ony, with existing geological facts and theories. 

The whole number of fossil species of vegetation thus 
far found in the strata of the earth, is estimated at about 
two thousand, of which more than five hundred belong to 
the coal measures. The very extensive mining operations, 
in the coal basins of Europe and America, are making con- 
stant additions to the fossils previously known. In the 
anthracite measures of Pennsylvania, at least two hundred 
specimens, previously unknown, have been discovered 
within the last six or eight years. In a collection of seven 
hundred specimens — (but many of them duplicates, and 
referable to the same species,) I have some fifty or more 
which appear to be new, and undescribed. In time, by 
the additions thus being made, the number of distinct spe- 
cies appertaining to the coal strata, must be greatly in- 
creased ; and instead of five hundred, there will probably 
be double that number. 

The fossil plants, like those of living species, are va- 
riously classified by Botanists, and there is consequently a 
good deal of complication and confusion in dealing with 
them. This appears to be one of the necessary concomi- 
tants of all the branches of Natural Science, and is per- 
haps the only reason why they are so much neglected by 
the populai taste in favor of other and less practical 
studies. In the sixteenth centur}^, the celebrated Conrad 
Gessner, of Germany, proposed a method of botanical 
classification, founded on the nature of the flower and 
fruit, and the relation which difi'erent species occupied to 
the same genera. In other words, he traced species into 
genera, and by this means was enabled to describe, with 
more intelligence than had ever been done before, all the 
plants known at that time. IS'early a century afterward, 
an eminent French botanist, named Tournefort, Professor 
of Botany in the Garden of Plants of Paris, wrote a work, 



SYSTEMS OP BOTANICAL CLASSIPICATON. 7ft 

in which he described over 10,000 species of plants, re- 
solvable into too genera. Among these were several 
thousand species entirely unknown to Botany before, 
having been collected by Tournefort during extensive 
travels on the continent of Europe. In this work, a new 
and more precise system of classification was adopted, 
which gave to Botany the rank of a distinctive science. 
In the year 1734, the celebrated Linnaeus appeared, and 
he relieved the infant science of much of the confusion of 
nomenclature that existed up to that time. The systems 
of Linnaeus and Tournefort were both founded on the 
same, or a very similar basis — Tournefort adopting the 
corolla, and Linnaeus the stamina, for separating the lead- 
ing divisions of the classes of plants. By this arrange- 
ment, plants having one stamen were ranked under the 
class Monandria; plants having two stamens were classed 
with the Diandria ; those with three stamens belonged to 
the third class, or Triandria ; those with four stamens to 
the fourth class, or Tetrandria^ and so on. The name 
of the class is thus generally expressive of the position 
the plants occupy in the scale — though there is a little 
obscurity in some of them. The arrangement was simple, 
and for that reason popular ; but, with the increase of 
number, and the complication of structure of the plants 
themselves, it finally proved defective. It furnished little 
or no information regarding the plants thus classified, 
beyond the name of the class to which they belonged. To 
find out their peculiar structure, organization, and prop- 
erties, other means had to be resorted to ; so that, while 
the systems were both simple and beautiful, they were yet 
of little practical value in the identification of species. 

Under these circumstances the system of Jussieu 

(embracing two or three distinguished botanists of that 

name), called the method of natural varieties, is that now 

most generally adopted by botanists. It differs altogether 

6 



80 THE THIRD DAY— GEOLOGICAL. 

from those of Linnteus and Tournefort ; — the divisions not 
being founded on a single organ, but on a combination of 
features characteristic of the plant or family. Agreeably 
to this arrangement, plants are separated into two great 
divisions, the first consisting (as previously mentioned) of 
such as are composed entirely of cellular tissue, are desti- 
tute of vessels, and whose embryo or germ has no 
cotyledons or seed leaves, whence they are termed acoty- 
ledonous. They are also named 'Oryptogamic, from the 
obscurity of their fructification. The other division is not 
only more numerous, but comprises plants of a higher and 
more complicated structure. Being furnished with cellular 
tissue and tubular vessels, and the embryo having one or 
more cotyledons, or seed leaves, they are called vascular 
or cotyledonous, and are sub-divided into dicotyledonous or 
exogenous, and monocotyledonous, or endogenous classes. 
The first class of the cryptogamia comprise the families of 
confervce and algce, which have hitherto been referred to. 
The next class, called cellular cryptogamia, comprise the 
extensive family of moSfees and liverworts. The third 
class, vascular crypto g amice, includes the families of 
equisetacece, or horse tails ; the ferns, very numerous ; the 
marsailliaceacB, or pepperworts ; the characece, or charas, 
and the lycopodiacece, or club-mosses. A fourth class, 
called phanerogamce gymnosperms, comprises the fami- 
lies of cycadece and coniferos, or fir tribes. The fifth 
class constitutes the monocotyledonous phanerogamice, 
and includes the families of naiades, of palms, of liliacece 
or lilies, and of cannece, or canes. The sixth and last 
class, denominated dicotyledonous phanerogamiace, em- 
brace the families of amentaceace, or the birch tribe, the 
juglandece, or walnut, the acerinece, or sycamore, and the 
nympheacece or the water-lily tribe. These families, it 
may be observed, afford an almost innumerable variety of 
individual types or species. 



FOSSILS OF THE COAL. 81 

Of the fossil plants comprised under the class crypto- 
gamicB, and the tribe of equisetacece, perhaps the most 
numerous in the coal, are those of the Galamites. They 
vary in size from small reeds, not more than the eighth 
of an inch 'thick, to trunks two or three feet in diameter. 
The smaller impressions leave a delicately-polished 
surface on the slates, and are often strewn over each other 
like tangled ribbons. Their general appearance is some- 
what similar to the stems of Indian corn, except that they 
are more conspicuously furrowed, but like corn they have 
regular joints where the leaves were attached, which vary 
only with the age or development of the tree. The 
leaves were also narrow and verticillate, somewhat in the 
manner of corn ; but they are seldom attached to the stem 
of the fossil. From the fact that these beautiful fossils 
are nearly always surrounded by small seams of coal, and 
occur in great abundance in nearly every vein, there can 
be no doubt but that they contributed largely to its forma- 
tion. I have found fine specimens of calamites in the solid 
sandstones, over and under the veins of coal. The 
woody structure is always converted into shale, but the 
outside is coated with a thin seam of pure coal. The 
calamites also flourished before the deposition of the De- 
vonian coal, and became wholly extinct in the subsequent 
era of the new red sandstone. 

Another fossil, very numerous in the anthracite regions, 
is that of the equisetum. ' There are several species, the 
most common of which is termed the columnare. They 
have a close resemblance to the larger calamites, but their 
columns are not so long and slender, and where they are 
interrupted by joints, they terminate in two-sided pyra- 
mids intersecting each other. The fossils indicate trees 
of considerable size, and they are often found surrounded 
by thin sheets of coal. They became extinct after 
the coal, but reappeared in a greatly diminished form 



82 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLQGICAL. 

during tlie Tertiary period, and at this time comprise the 
small species of plants called the horse-tails, whicli 
flourish in our ponds and river flats. 

By far the most numerous, the most beautiful, and the 
best-preserved fossils in the coal measures, are those of the 
family of ferns. I have more than two hundred specimens 
in my collection, belonging to this extensive family. 
Most of the species, however, are only represented by 
their leaves, or by the slender stems to which they were 
attached. Notwithstanding their great abundance, I do 
not believe their vegetation contributed materially, if any 
thing, to the formation of the coal. I shall presently give 
my reasons for this opinion, since, from their abundance 
in the coal measures, nearly all geologists have inferred 
that they contributed the, great bulk of the solid coal. 

The fossil ferns comprise the following genera, all of 
which are determined by the character of their leaves or 
fronds : pachypteris, or thick fern ; sphenopteris, or wedge 
fern ; cyclopteris, or circular fern ; glossopteris, or tongue- 
shaped fern ; neuropteris, or nerve fern ; odontopteris, or 
tooth fern ; anomopteris, signifying secret fern ; toeniop- 
teris, or wreath fern ; pecopteris, of unknown significance ; 
longckopteris, or spear-shaped ; schizopteris, or divided 
fern ; otopteris, resembling the ear ; and caulopteris, a 
stem-like fern. 

Nearly all these varieties of the fern have representa- 
tives in the coal ; but such is the diversity of structure 
among them, that a description here would be tedious and 
unprofitable. Of the pecopteris, there are no less than 
sixty-two species, well identified, in the coal ; of neurop- 
teris, some forty-three species ; caulopteris, five or six ; and 
cyclopteris, seven. Most of the others have from one to 
five species, while a few only are unrepresented. Such, 
however, appear in the subsequent eras of the new reS 
sandstone, the oolite, and the chalk, and many, if not all 



CALAMITES — FERNS — LEPIDODENDRONS, &C. 83 

of them, survive at the present time. But all the Ferns 
now existing are very small and dwarf-like, while it is 
supposed that those of the coal attained the proportions 
of ordinary young forest trees. This, however, in my 
opinion, is very much exaggerated. 

The next family is that of the Lycopodiacece, or the 
Club-mosses. These are well represented in the coal, and 
comprise a series of very beautiful and interesting fossils. 
I have twenty-five or more specimens, representing as 
many different species. The most numerous are those of 
the Lepidodendrons, or scaly tree — so called from the im- 
bricated structure of the bark, or their resemblance to the 
scales of fish. These trees may indeed be allied, as the 
botanists allege, to the club-mosses of the present day ; 
but it seems to me that a closer relation exists between 
them and our existing yelloio pines. Were the tender 
shoots of these pines, or those of from one to ten years 
old, buried in mud, and then subjected to heat and pres- 
sure, they would stamp impressions on the baked slate 
exactly similar to those of certain species of the fossil 
Lepidodendrons. In both cases, the imbricated scales 
and scars were produced by the detached leaves, or nee- 
dles, which originally surrounded the stem in regular 
order. The interior of the conical scales or lines is some- 
times very curious — the leaf-dots hanging like miniature 
chandeliers by means of little threads or chains. The 
scars assumed their rhomboidal form in consequence of 
the bulging out of the leaf-stalk, and the lines that would 
otherwise have been continuous, straight, and parallel, 
like the ribs of Sigillaria, are thus forced apart at intervals, 
and then again united. The variation in the structure of 
these rhomboidal cavities or scales, is due to the varying 
dimensions and age of the tree. In the young ones they 
are small and close together, and the lines describe regu- 
lar angles ; but with the increased thickness of the bark, 



84 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

and the expansion of the tree, they grew larger and larger, 
and always varied with the species. 

The Lycopodites are smaller than the Lepidodendrons, 
and had their leaves attached to the stem in two opposite 
rows, leaving obscure parallel scars in the fossil, after it 
became flattened by pressure. The stem of the Uloden- 
dron is covered with rhomboidal plates, broader than long, 
in the interior of which, or on the raised surface of the 
fossil, as the case may be (for there are always two casts 
to every fossil), are large scars, the whole being very 
similar to the cones of pine trees. The Lepidostrobus 
is an ovate or cylindrical cone, composed of imbricated 
scales, encircling a woody axis, the seeds of which are 
oblong and solitary. There is some dispute among 
botanists in regard to these cones. Some twenty speci- 
mens in my collection are exactly similar to those of cer- 
tain species of pine ; and, although the classification seems 
to forbid it, I cannot help believing that all these fossils 
appertain to the family of resinous pines existing at the 
present time, and that they formed by "far the largest por- 
tion of the material of which the coal is composed. The 
whole family of Lycopodiacece disappeared after the depo- 
sition of the coal ; but it is supposed that they are repre- 
sented by the club-mosses of the present era — a proposition 
which, at least, admits of considerable doubt. 

It is a singular fact, that the most abundant and the 
most important and conspicuous fossil in the coal meas- 
ures is that of which the least is known. This is the 
family of Sigillaria. Fossil botanists claim forty different 
species in the coal. I have at least that number in my 
collection, among which are several new species not yet 
named or classified. There can be no doubt whatever 
but that these trees, with those just mentioned, furnished 
the great bulk of the coal. They grew to enoi*mous 
dimensions, rivaling the venerable pines of our forests. 



SIGILLARIA PREDOMINANT IN GOAL. 85 

Their fossils sometimes occur in the shales over the coal 
for a continuous length of eighty or a hundred feet ; and 
I have often seen slabs from three to six feet wide, en- 
tirely covered with their deep parallel furrows. I have 
never yet met a specimen of Sigillaria that was not coated 
and surrounded with thin sheets of coal. They were 
formerly assigned a doubtful position in botanical classifi- 
cation, or a position intermediate between the divisions 
of Cryptogams and Monocotyledons ; but recent investi- 
gations seem to justify their association with the Dicotyle- 
dons. I can venture no opinion as to the rank to which 
they are entitled ; but I am very certain that all of them 
secreted resinous or oily juices, and that they were so far 
Dicotyledons as to resemble existing species of the pine. 
The Sigillaria were conical trees, the bark of which was 
deeply furrowed and ribbed. These ribs are from an 
eighth of an inch to two inches apart, and run parallel 
with each other, lengthwise with the tree. Between the 
ribs, in the concave furrows, are scars at regular intervals. 
From the resemblance these scars bear to the stamp of a 
seal, in sealing-wax, they are called Sigillaria. The fur- 
rows vary in width, as well as the space between the 
scars, in proportion to the dimensions of the tree. The 
scars are the marks left by the leaves after they had be- 
come detached ; and this is a characteristic of all resinous 
pine trees — the leaves of one 3'ear falling off when those 
of a new year appear. In this respect, the Lepidodendria, 
the Sigillaria, and perhaps the Stigmaria, all resemble the 
pines of the present era. The scars of the Sigillaria vary 
in different species. Sometimes they are round, or rhom- 
boidal ; sometimes there are two, closely attached, and 
forming a heart ; sometimes they are long and slender, or 
consist of two little dots, in the same scar ; sometimes the 
scars are half- covered by an arching roof, or are sur- 
rounded by circular indentations. Again, there are oc- 



86 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

casionally two circles, one on top of the other, and the 
leaf dot upon the last. Sometimes the scars are placed 
in arching cavities, like eyes ; while in others, the ribs are 
omitted, and the dots are surrounded with delicate lines, 
radiating as from a central nucleus, or waving around 
them in graceful curves. The fossils are invariably highly 
sculptured, and constitute by far the most varied, im- 
portant, and interesting class of the ancient flora. The 
Sigillaria made their first and last appearance during the 
coal period. And the fact is not without significance, 
that the three principal classes of the coal vegetation, viz., 
the Calamites, the Lepidodendria, and the Sigillaria, are 
all confined to that era — a mere trace only of the former 
appearing in the new red sandstone. 

Besides the Sigillaria, there is another genus, termed 
Volkmannia, of doubtful afiinity. They are leaves, with 
a striated stem, and articulated; and are usually found in 
large whorls. They are supposed to be leaves of the cala- 
mite, but I think this exceedingly doubtful. Under the 
name of Garpotithes, are included all the fruits of the an- 
cient earth, for which no specific names are provided. 
These are scarce in the coal, as might be readily inferred 
from the character of the vegetation. I have two very 
fine specimens, however, which resemble the chestnuts of 
our forests. I have frequently noticed an obscure fossil, 
varying in size from a chestnut to a walnut, but much flat- 
tened, which may be a fruit. The surface is always very 
smooth and shining, and the only feature which distin- 
guishes it from a leaf is its thickness. I have also speci- 
mens of a fruit, which is perfectly round, and the interior 
exhibits a dotted or cellular structure. These are an inch 
and a quarter in diameter, and resemble the large ink-balls 
of the oak more than any thing else that I can now think of. 

Of plants of the true Monocotyledonous class, there are 
comparatively few in the co^. Of the palm family, the 



FOSSIL PLANTS IN THE COAL. 81 

leaves of the Flabellaria occur sparingly. They are peti- 
olate and fan-shaped, contracting and plaited at their base. 
The Nosggerathia are more numerous — five or six species 
having been found. They are also petiolate and pin- 
nated; leaflets obovate and nearly cuneiform against the 
edges of the petiole, but toothed tov^ard the apex, with 
fine diverging veins. Zeugophyltites is another genus, of 
which two species are known in the coal. They are de- 
scribed as petiolated, pinnated; leaflets opposite, oblong, 
or oval, entire, with a fcAV strongly-marked ribs, confluent 
at the base and summit, and all of equal thickness. The 
Sternbergia is a slender, naked, and cylindrical stem, ter- 
minating in a cone, marked by transverse furrows, but 
with no articulations. There are three or four species in 
the coal ; but they are of doubtful aflinity in botanical ar- 
rangement. Foacites are all monocotyledonous leaves, 
with parallel veins, simple and of equal thickness, but not 
connected by transverse bars. There are several species 
in the coal. Of fruits, there are two species of Trigono- 
carpum, and two of Musocarpum. So far as known, these 
are the only species in the coal measures, properly belong- 
ing to the division of Monocotyledons ; but the seplants 
were very numerously represented during the Tertiary pe- 
riod by the families of Palms, Zostera, and Naides, and 
by more than one thousand living species at the present 
time. They flourish best in tropical climates, and com- 
prise the great bulk of the vegetation of those regions. 

Intermediate between the Monocotyledon and the 
Dicotyledon divisions, are a few families of doubtful affin- 
ity, but of considerable abundance in the coal. The As- 
terophyllites have stems scarcely tumid at the articulations, 
but branching; leaves verticillate, linear, and acute, with 
a single midrib, quite distinct at the base ; fruit, a one- 
seeded ovate, compressed, nucule, bordered by a membra- 
nous wing, and emarginate at the apex. Twelve species 



88 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

occur in the coal ; and they are not confined, as Mr. Les- 
quereux says, in the Geological Report of Pennsylvania, 
'Ho the upper coals." They are found in nearly every 
vein where other fossils abound, v^rithout regard to ''high 
or low coal." The Annularia is a family which includes 
some beautiful fossils, some of which resemble the Astero- 
phyllites. The stem contains numerous chisters of leaves, 
which radiate around it in the form of a star. The stem 
is slender and fragile, articulated, and has opposite branches 
springing out from above the leaves. The leaves are ver- 
ticillate, flat, usually obtuse, with a single midrib united 
at the base, of unequal length. There are six or eight 
species in the coal. The Phyllothera have a simple, 
straight, articulated stem, surrounded at regular distances 
by a sheath, having long linear leaves, which have no dis- 
tinct midrib. There is but one species in the coal. Be- 
china have a branched, jointed and articulated stem, deeply 
and widely furrowed; the leaves are verticillate, very nar- 
row, acute, and ribless. One species only in the coal. 
These plants may, perhaps, be ranked as CycadsB, — and if 
so, they constitute the only representatives of that group 
in the coal. They diminished in the new red sandstone, 
and increased during the Oolitic era; they again decreased, 
and nearly became extinguished in the Cretaceous, but 
again expanded, greater than before, in the upper Tertiary. 
They now threw out several lateral branches, which in- 
cludes the families of Poplars, Willows, Elms, Sycamores, 
Magnolias, Oaks, Birches, Maples, and numerous other 
trees of existing forests. 

Among the other branches or families of the Dicotyle- 
dons, there are but two or three represented in the coal — 
but they constitute the most important sources of its 
vegetable material. Of these, the Euphorbiacece is repre- 
sented by the Stigmaria. This is described by botanists 



FOSSIL COAL PLANTS — STIGMARIA. 89 

as having a stem originally succulent, and marked exter- 
nally by roundish tubercles or scars, surrounded by a 
hollow, and arranged in a direction more or less spiral, 
having internally a woody axis, which communicates 
with the tubercles by woody processes. The leaves 
arising from the tubercles are succulent, entire, and vein- 
less, except in the centre, where there is often some trace 
of a midrib. There are five or six species in the coal. I 
may add to this botanical description, that the Stigmaria 
is almost invariably, — in fact, so far as I have been able 
to observe, I may say, without qualification, it is invari- 
ably found in the slates underlaying the veins of coal. 
Mr. Lesquereux, however, is of a different opinion, and 
says that he found them somewhat plentifully in the top 
slates of the mammoth vein at Minersville, and in the 
roof of the South Salem vein at Pottsville. I must beg 
leave to say to Mr. Lesquereux, that there is no mammoth 
vein at Minersville, or, rather, that it does not outcrop, 
and has never been worked there. The nearest white ash 
coals to Minersville are those of Wolf Creek, at which 
place the so-called mammoth vein is divided into two or 
three distinct veins. It therefore has no existence at or 
near Minersville. Although it could not, therefore, have 
been the mammoth vein to which he alludes, it does not 
follow that he is mistaken as to finding the Stigmaria in 
the top slates. But when he speaks of finding them in 
the South Salem vein a^ Pottsville, another doubt arises. 
The south veins of the red ash coals, in the Sharp 
Mountain, at Pottsville, are tilted over ; and that which 
was originally the bottom slate is now the top slate. It is 
therefore very natural to find the Stigmaria in what seems 
to be the top slate of these veins, but, in reahty, they are 
in the original bottom slate, where they grew ; and it so 
happens that they there occur in extraordinary abundance 



90 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

. — ^they are, in fact, the prevailing fossils on the slope of 
the Sharp Mountain.* 

Some geologists have suggested that the Stigmaria are 
the roots of the Sigillaria. It may be remarked, in sup- 
port of this view, that the slate in which the Stigmaria 
are found, is materially different from that inclosing the 
Sigillaria. The bottom slate of all coal veins is baked 
mud and clay, and, on exposure to the air, it decomposes 
into irregular lumps. That of the top, and overlying the 
coal, is invariably laminated, and readily splits into thin 
sheets and slabs. Now, the tree may have had its roots 
in the bottom shale, and after the deposition of the coal, 
when it fell to the ground, the top slate, in the form of 
sediment and silt, may have buried the trunk and its 
branches — leaving the vein of coal between them. I have 
occasionally noticed, at the coal mines, what appeared to 
be the stumps and roots of the Stigmaria ; but I never 
could discover any traces or tendency to pass into Sigil- 
laria. The characters of the two families, considered as 
fossils, appear to be distinct. The Stigmaria, unlike 
many other fossils, is often surrounded by leaves, which 
branch out from the stem a distance of from four to ten 
inches. These leaves are spear-shaped, soft, and succu- 
lent. Some persons have styled them rootlets ; but, if so, 
it seems preposterous that they should have served to sup- 
port such gigantic trees as the Sigillaria. I have several 
specimens of Stigmaria, deprived of these leaves, which 
I cut out of solid sandstone. It is not posf?ible that they 
could have groion there — or at least not li.iely. One or 
two specimens of the stem are converted into finely com- 
minuted sandstone. I think it very likely, from what I 

* Mr. L. may, however, have reference to the old Salam Slopes near 
Pottsville, abandoned many years ago. If so, I have only io «ay that I 
have never detected the Stigmaria among the charactenstio f-ossils of 
that vein. 



FOSSIL PLANTS OF THE COAL. 91 

have seen of it, that this plant was a species of vine, 
which flourished in the soft mud and marshes in imme- 
diate proximity to the coal basins, and was thus liable to 
be buried beneath the veins of coal, where we now find 
it. This view is supported by the observations of several 
persons in' the mining regions of England, and is only 
contradicted by the mistaken inferences of theoretical 
speculators in Geology and Paleontology. 

Of Coniferse, there are several families in the coal. The 
Pinites have axes composed of pith wood in concentric 
circles, bark, and medullary rays, but with no vessels ; walls 
of the woody fibre reticulated. There are three or four 
species in the coal, but the wood only is known. The 
Auraucaria have axes composed also of pith wood, in 
concentric circles, bark, and medullary rays. Sphen- 
ophyllum have branches deeply furrowed ; leaves verticil- 
late and wedge-shaped, with dichotomous veins. There 
are ten species in the coal. The Coniferous plants flour- 
ished to a very great extent in the coal, as well as in the 
new red sandstone and the oolite. They disappeared 
during the cretaceous era, but came forward in great 
abundance in the upper Tertiary. They are now repre- 
sented by the extensive family of the pines, and flourish 
all over the world,' in cold as well as warm climates. 

We have thus briefly glanced at the leading families of 
the vegetation which furnished the material of which coal 
is composed. There are a great number and many varie- 
ties of species which it would be tedious and useless to 
describe here, since they are nearly all comprehended in 
the classes already specified. Thousands of leaves, stems, 
fruits, and flowers occur in fragments and matted heaps 
in the slates that accompany the coal ; and although the 
internal structure and woody fibre have been compressed 
and superseded, or changed into shale, the pitch or oil 
which permeated the pores of the plant has glued them to 



^9% THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

the slates, and thereby imprinted their external characters 
as distinctly as an engraving or lithograph on a sheet of 
paper. The comparative anatomist is often compelled to 
identify animal species by an isolated tooth or a frag- 
mentary bone. In like manner, the fossil botanist has 
sometimes to rely upon a scattered leaf or an altered woody 
structure ; yet, so regular and undeviating is Nature in 
all her works, that the sequel frequently establishes the 
correctness of scientific generalization, notwithstanding 
the obscure data on which, in such cases, he is compelled 
to rely. Nor can we, in view of their bearing upon the 
past history of the earth, regard these magnificent fossils 
as the result of accidental circumstances. There are hun- 
dreds of coal basins distributed over the surface of the 
earth, and these fossils invariably occur in all of them. 
They are therefore too wide-spread and universal to be 
regarded as accidental, either in the manner of their de- 
posit or their preservation. All the works of Nature be- 
tray a design — an intellectual plan ; and what we some- 
times regard as deviations or apparent contradictions of 
harmony and uniformity, only expose the feebleness of 
our faculties of analogy and perception. The hieroglyphics 
of Egypt, Nineveh, and Babylon, inscribed on the marble 
panels of their ruined palaces, obelisks, and catacombs, 
are perhaps the most ancient memorials of the human race 
that have been transmitted to succeeding ages. And 
what is, the moral lesson which they teach ? Simply that 
.the sculptured rocks record faithfully the vanity, folly, 
and ambition of nations and of individuals, and survive 
the evanescent glory of both 1 They tell us that the spoils 
of victory — the dignities of office — the gains of craft ; — 
the buoyancy of youth, and the severity of age ; — the 
fears of the wicked, the pains of the afflicted, the chains 
of the enslaved — that all the pride, and power, and majesty 
of long lines of kings, are wholly obliterated in the dust 



FOSSILS THE ^ECORD OF GOD'S WORK. 93 

of their bones, leaving not a vestige behind but the pol- 
ished stones upon which they carved their names — faith- 
ful but melancholy sentinels on the frontiers of the Past, 
to tell marching years the story of their passing away ! 
And such, in some respects, are these wonderful fossils ; 
but they bear no such miserable comment. Instead of 
adding to the posthumous glory of man, they reveal the 
majesty of the living God ! They perpetuate no local or 
ordinary event ; they do not speak of war, and captives, 
and blood ; — but they exhibit pictures of the young earth, 
when the creative volition of the great Architect was first 
displayed. They are the picturescripts, the universal 
hieroglyphics, of Nature, and record the wise fore- 
thought and the unsolicited benevolence of the great 
Jehovah ! 

While we might naturally expect some diversity of 
opinion regarding the character of the vegetation the re- 
mains of which have been thus preserved in the crust of 
the earth, there is an equal if not a greater conflict of opin- 
ion as to how it was accumulated into separate seams, and 
thence transformed into mineral coal. The geological the- 
ories cannot all be correct; but it may be safely assumed 
that a certain amount of probability appertains to each, 
since they are all based on the vegetable origin of the coal 
itself The theories may be divided into two leading di- 
visions, — the first comprising the Peat-hog Theory and 
the other the Estuary, or Drift Theory. There are others 
intermediate between these, or partaking of some of the 
features of both, which we shall notice. 

The Peat-bog theory contemplates an extensive level 
marsh, traversed by numerous springs of water, or its 
permeation by the waters of an adjacent river or ocean. 
During the coal period, it is inferred that such marshes 
supported a luxuriant vegetation of the character already 
mentioned; that successive crops of such vegetation fall 



94 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

down and were buried in the bogs ; that after the accu- 
mulation of a great stratum of carbonaceous matter, con- 
sisting of arborescent plants, leaves, and grasses, the bog 
was overflowed by the adjacent sea, the waters of which 
deposited over it layers of mud and silt, which now con- 
tain the fossils, and then successive layers of sandstone, 
(or limestone,) and clay, and shale. The solid trunks and 
woody fibre thus buried between layers of sand, gravel 
and mud, which afterward hardened, caused fermentation 
to ensue in the vegetable material, thereby converting 
it into a species of lignite ; and the continuance of pres- 
sure and fermentation, finally resolved it into bituminous 
coal. After the first seam of coal had been thus deposited, 
the waters of the sea were withdrawn, and another peat 
bog was again commenced, precisely as before. There 
being in some coal basins, as many as from sixty to one 
hundred distinct and separate seams of coal, it is necessary 
to suppose, on the basis of this theory, that the sea over- 
whelmed the successive layers of peat in the order in which 
they were accumulated. The idea of such regular and pe- 
riodical invasions of the adjacent sea, is rather too stu- 
pendous to be seriously entertained. * But granting the 
probability of the thing, is it reasonable to suppose that 
the vegetation, scattered about in irregular heaps of trees 
and stumps, and leaves, should be reduced to a uniform 
level over the bog, and the mud evenly deposited over it, 
without intermixing and ramifying the pores and layers 
of the peat ? If the peat, before the invasion of the sea, 
had already assumed the external form of a smooth and 
compact layer, then the sediment might not so readily 
have intermixed; but if such a seam had been previously 
formed, how are we to account for the splitting of nume- 
rous coal veins, and their reunion at iiTegular intervals ? 
This is a phenomenon well known to practical miners, but 
seldom contemplated by theoretical geologists. A vein of 



THEORIES OF THE DEPOSITION OF COAL VEINS. 95 

coal which is at one point ten feet thick, at another may- 
be but five feet. This may be explained thus ; the aeam 
of coal parts in the middle, by the intrusion of a sandstone 
or other rock, and thus forms two apparently distinct seams 
of coal. The space between them often expands from 
twenty to eighty yards, and may continue for many miles 
before they again converge to each other. The same di- 
vision often occurs on sinking downward through a 
vein — expanding and contracting, as the case may be, in 
every direction in which it is pursued, and varying from 
a mere thin slaty wedge, to coarse, well-defined, sedimen- 
tary rocks. IS'ow, all this is incompatible with the idea 
of a periodical submergence of the peat-bogs, because the 
veins thus separated are made to undulate with the 
contraction and expansion of the wedges of rock between 
them — whereas, it is necessary to premise, on the basis of 
this hypothesis, that the flooi* of the bog was always per- 
fectly level. But, whether level or not, if the sea over- 
flowed the bog, it would scatter its sediment equally, and 
not leave isolated deposits from twenty to one hundred 
yards high at one place, and no sediment whatever at the 
other places. 

The Estuary, or Drift Theory, is mainly founded on the 
objections arising against the other — that is to say, the 
utter improbability of the repeated invasions of the sea 
and adjacent fresh waters to deposit the rocks that alter- 
nate with the coal seams. To account more satisfactorily, 
therefore, for the interposition of these rocks, it is sup- 
posed that the vegetation was transported by rivers from 
the beds where it grew, and deposited in the basins or 
estuaries formed at their junction with the sea. On this 
hypothesis, the alternation of marine and fresh-water 
deposits, between the veins of coal, is easily accounted 
for ; but the liability of the loose and fragmentary material 
of the vegetation to become intermixed with the mud and 



96 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

sediment held in suspension by the water, and thus to 
destroy the purity of the coal, is an overwhelming and a 
fatal objection. The great rafts of logs and leaves, as 
they were hurried on to the sea, would become coated 
and surrounded by mud ; and, as they gradually sunk to 
the bottom, they would be still further involved in it. 
But as trees and stumps have been found in an erect posi- 
tion, under -and immediately above veins of coal, it is 
inferred that they never could have been transported in 
this manner ; and geologists have therefore been gradu- 
ally abandoning the theory. In Nova Scotia, Professors 
Darwin and Lyell have detected sixt}^ planes of successive 
vegetation among the strata of that region ; and in some 
of these planes they tound fossil trees, in an erect posi- 
tion, and in others the stumps and roots of Stigmaria. 
These planes of vegetation conform to the stratification 
of the inclosing rocks,'which lean at an angle of about 30° 
to the horizon. Mr. Hawkshaw, of England, in 1839, 
described five fossil trees discovered in a cutting on the 
Manchester and Bolton Railroad. These trees stood erect 
over a bed of coal eight inches thick. The largest meas- 
ured five feet in diameter at the base, and was eleven feet 
high. He conceived it probable that the trees grew 
where they were found. In a subsequent paper, after 
having found another fossil tree, standing over the same 
coal seam, Mr. Hawkshaw observes : ** If the coal be con- 
sidered as the debris of a forest, it is difficult to account 
for not finding more trunks of trees than have been dis- 
covered in our coal basins ; and it is only, perhaps, by 
allowing the original of our coal seams to have been a 
combination of vegetable matter, analogous to peat, that 
the difficulty can be solved." After Mr. Hawkshaw's 
first communication, Mr. Beaumont, in a paper read to 
the Geological Society of London, upon the subject of the 
same trees, states several objections to the Drift Theory 



DRIFT THEORY — PEAT-BOG THEORY. 9'r 

of Goal, and conceives that the vegetation grew where it 
is found. He thinks that it must have flourished on 
swampy islands, and consisted principally of ferns, cala- 
mites, coniferous, and other trees, which operated, through 
their decay and regeneration, to form peat-bogs ; and that 
the islands, by subsiding, were covered over with drifted 
sand, clay, and shells, till they again became dry land, 
and supported another vegetation ; and this process, he 
supposes, was repeated as often as there are coal seams ! 
Dr. Buckland, in commenting on this hypothesis, observes 
that " in denying altogether the presence of drifted plants, 
the opinion of the author seems erroneous ; universal 
negative propositions are in all cases dangerous, and more 
especially so in Geology. That some of the trees which 
are found erect in the coal formation have not been drifted, 
is, he thinks, established on sufficient evidence ; but there 
is equal evidence to show that other trees and leaves in- 
numerable, which pervade the strata that alternate with 
the coal, have been removed by water to considerable 
distances from the spots on which they grew. Proofs 
are daily increasing in favor of both opinions, namely, 
that some of the vegetables which form our beds of coal 
grew on the identical banks of sand and silt and mud, 
which, being now indurated to stone and shale, form the 
strata that accompany the coal ; whilst other portions of 
those plants have been drifted to various distances from 
die swamps, savannas, and forests that gave them birth ; 
particularly those that are dispersed through the sand- 
stones, or mixed with fishes in the shale beds." In these 
views of Dr. Buckland, Sir Charles Lyell would seem to 
concur, as, in quoting the above passage in his Ulements, 
he says that " it can no longer be doubted that both these 
opinions are true, if we confine pur attention to particular 
places." Another paper, on the subject of the same fossil 
trees found on the Manchester and Bolton Railway, was 



98 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

read cotemporaneously with the last communication of 
Mr. Hawkshaw. The author, Mr. Bowman, is of opin- 
ion '' that the theory of the subsidence of the land during 
the carboniferous era, receives much support from the 
phenomena presented by these fossil trees." He does not 
deny that plants may have been carried into the water 
from neighboring lands ; but he conceives it difficult to 
understand whence the vast masses of vegetables neces- 
sary to form thick seams of coal could have been derived, 
if drifted, and how they could have been sunk to the bot- 
tom without being intermixed with the earthy sediment 
which was slowly deposited upon them. Another diffi- 
culty of the Drift Theory, he says, " is the uniformity of 
the distribution of the vegetable matter throughout such 
great areas as those occupied by the seams of coal." Mr. 
Bowman believes that the coal has been formed from 
plants which grew on the areas now occupied by the 
seams ; that each successive race of vegetation was gradu- 
ally submerged beneath the level of the water, and cov- 
ered up by sediment, which accumulated till it formed 
another dry surface for the growth of another series of 
trees and plants, and that the submergences and accumu- 
lations took place as many times as there are seams of 
coal. In reviewing the foregoing facts and opinions. Dr. 
Buckland conceives that a luxuriant growth of marsh 
plants, as Calamites, Lepidodendra, Sigillarna, etc., may 
have formed a superstratum of coal, resting on a super- 
stratum of the same, composed exclusively of remains of 
Siigmaria; and, in accounting for the marine and fresh- 
water strata alternating with the coal beds, he appeals to 
the intermitting and alternate processes of subsidence, 
drift, and vegetable growth. 

Prof. Bogers, in introducing his own Inqoothesis, says 
of the foregoing, "that they do not attempt to account for 
some of the most remarkable relationships among the 



COAL — HOW FORMED. 9^ 

Strata, such as the extraordinary frequency, beneath the 
coal beds, of the Stigmaria clay, the very general occur- 
rence of laminated slates immediately above the seams 
and the singular contrast which these underlying and 
overlying rocks present, in the variety and condition of 
the imbedded vegetable remains. JS^or do they explain 
satisfactorily why the coal itself contains so few traces of 
the forest trees of the period, either in a prostrate or erect 
position ; while thin broken stems are mingled with the 
fragmentary parts of the Stigmaria, in more or less abun- 
dance, in all the coarser rocks." This is very true. Any 
theory which contemplates merely the coal itself, must 
necessarily be unsatisfactory, incomplete, and defective ; 
for it so happens that the coal is nearly always associated 
with, and frequently graduates into, the adjacent slates, 
which are also of equal and sometimes greater thickness. 
But besides the coal, we must also account for the numer- 
ous deposits of soft, unctuous, and shelly coal which occur 
so frequently in the vein, and which sometimes extend 
several hundred yards in length, entirely displacing and 
superseding the pure coal. What is this substance ? 
That it is not pure coal is suflSciently plain ; that it is not 
slate is equally plain; that it is of vegetable origin no one 
will deny. I shall not anticipate here the remarks which 
I propose to make hereafter ; but I may merely suggest 
that this unctuous shale is the true peat of the peat-hogs; 
but that the coal itself is quite another substance. 

Prof, H. D. Rogers, in his voluminous^ Report on the 
Geology of Pennsylvania, promulgates a theory which 
comprehends some of the leading features of drift, estuary, 
and peat bogs ; and though portions of it are original with 
himself, and extremely curious, the whole may be regarded 
as a fair exposition of the views now generally held by 
geologists on this subject. 

" Let us imagine," says Mr. Rogers, " the areas now 



100 THE THIKD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

covered by the coal formation, to have possessed a physi- 
cal geography, in which the principal feature was the 
existence of extensive flats, bordering a continent, and 
forming the shores of an ocean, or some vast bay, outside 
of which was a wide expanse of shallow but open sea. 
Let us now suppose that the whole period of the coal 
measures was characterized by a general slow subsidence 
of these coasts, on which we conceive that the vegetation 
of the coal grew; — that this vertical depression was, 
however, interrupted by pauses and gradual upward 
movements of less frequency and duration, and that these 
nearly statical conditions of the land alternated with 
great paroxysmal displacements of the coal, caused by 
those mighty pulsations of the crust which we will call 
earthquakes. Let us further conceive, that during the 
periods of gentle depression, or almost absolute rest, the 
low coast was fringed by great marshy tracts or peat bogs, 
derived from and supporting a luxuriant growth of 
siigmarice (sigillaria and lepidodendria,) and that along the 
landward margin, and in the dryer places of these exten- 
sive sea morasses, grew the coniferce, tree-ferns, lycopo- 
dicecece, and other arborescent plants, whose remains are 
so profusely scattered throughout the coarser strata, 
between the coal seams. In this condition of things, the 
constant decomposition and growth of the meadows of 
stigmariae, would produce a very uniform extended stratum 
of pulpy, but minutely-laminated pure peat. This would 
receive occasional contributions from the droppings by 
the scattered trees of their leaves, fronds, and smaller por- 
tions, which, being driven by winds, or floated on the high 
tides, would lodge among the stigmariae in the marshes, 
and slightly augment the deposit. These leaves and 
fronds, covered over more or less rapidly by the growing 
stigmariae, or varying in their tendency to decay, according 
to the abundance or deficiency of their juices, would, when 



COAL — HOW FORMED. 101 

thus inclosed, pass at once either to the pulpy state, and 
ultimately form coal, or by the more rapid extrication of 
their volatile portions, remain as mineral charcoal, and 
preserve their vegetable fibrous structure. In both of 
these conditions of coal and charcoal, we often find the 
smaller parts of plants retaining their organized forms 
among the laminae of the purest coal seams. Upon this 
view of a gradual accumulation from the stigmarice, 
assisted by the deciduous parts of the trees, it is altogether 
unnecessary to suppose that any portions, even the upper 
layers of the coal beds, derived their vegetable matter 
from the stems of the trees themselves. Thus the absence 
of trunks and roots from the coal, is reconciled with 
the occasional occurrence of their fronds and lighter ex- 
tremities. Upon no other hypothesis respecting the 
physical condition of the region which produced the coal 
vegetation than that here imagined, can I explain the 
singular infrequency of fossil trunks standing on or in the 
coal, or account for their occasional occurrence, as in the 
instances described by Hawkshaw and Bowman. No 
other supposition seems to furnish a cause for the absence 
or all traces in the coal itself of the larger parts of arbo- 
rescent plants, and for their equally remarkable abundance 
in a broken and dispersed state in the overlying strata."* 
Assuming such to have been the condition of the 
surface during the tranquil periods of accumulation of 
each coal bed, Mr. Rogers conceives the alternating strata 
to have been produced in the following extraordinary 
manner : " Let us suppose an earthquake, possessing the 
characteristic undulatory movement of the crust, in which 
I believe all earthquakes essentially to consist, suddenly 
to have disturbed the level of the side peat-morasses and 
adjoining flat tracts of forest on the one side, and the 

* Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, vol. iL 



1D2 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

shallow sea on the other. The ocean, as usual in earth- 
quakes, would drain off its waters for a moment from the 
great Stigmaria marsh, and from all the swampy forests 
which skirted it, and by its recession stir up the muddy 
soil, and drift away the fronds, twigs, and smaller plants, 
and spread these and the mud broadly over the surface 
of the bog. In this way may have been formed the 
laminated slates, so full of fragmentary leaves and twigs, 
which generally compose the immediate covering of the 
coal beds. Presently, however, the sea would roll in with 
impetuous force, and, reaching the forest land prostrate 
every thing before it. Almost the entire forest would be 
uprooted, and borne off on its tremendous surf Spread- 
ing far inland, compared with its accustomed shore, it 
would wash up the soil, and abrade whatever fragmentary 
materials lay in its path, and, loaded with these, it would 
then rush out again, with irresistible violence, toward its 
deeper bed, strewing the products of the land in a coarse 
promiscuous stratum, imbedding the fragments of the 
broken and disordered trees. Alternately swelling and 
retiring with a suddenness and energy far surpassing that 
of any tide, and maintained probably in this state of tem- 
pestuous oscillation by fresh heavings of the crust, the 
waters would go on spreading a succession of coarser or 
finer strata, and entombing at each inundation a new 
portion of the floating forest. Upon the dying away of 
the earthquake undulations, the sea, once more restored to 
tranquillity, would hold in suspension at last only the most 
finely-subdivided sedimentary matter, and the most buoy- 
ant of the uptorn vegetation — that is to say, the argilla- 
ceous particles of the fire-clay — and the naturally floating 
stems of the plants. These would at last precipitate 
themselves together by a slow subsidence, and form a uni- 
form deposit, exhibiting but few traces of any active hori- 
zontal currents, such as would arise from a drifting into 



COAL VEINS — HOW DEPOSITED. 103 

the sea from rivers. The chief portion of the coarser fire- 
clay would settle first, and then the more impalpable 
particles, in company with the stems and leaves of the 
uprooted vegetation. Thus we may account for the con- 
stant reproduction of the peculiar soil of the coal seams, 
and for the preservation, particularly in its upper clayey 
layers, of the Stigmaria (Sigillaria) ; the simple conse- 
quences of the final subsidence of those materials being 
the production of the necessary substratum of another 
coal marsh. The marine savannahs becoming again 
clothed with their matting of vegetation, and fringed, on 
the side toward the land, with wet forests of arborescent 
ferns and other trees, all the essential conditions and 
changes that constituted this wonderful cycle in the 
statical and dynamic processes belonging to each seam of 
coal, and the beds inclosing it, would be completed, and 
ready to be once more renewed."* 

This, indeed, is a very extraordinary theory. An earth- 
quake for every seam of coal 1 In those basins where there 
are from fifty to one hundred seams, large and small, there 
must have been an equal number of earthquakes I In 
Nova Scotia there were at least seventy such earthquakes 
— yet, singular as the fact may appear, there is little or no 
disturbance of the strata! In the Anthracite regions, ac- 
cording to Mr. Rogers' showing, there are some fifty coal 
seams, consequently there must have been fifty or more 
successive earthquakes! and these earthquakes were not 
confined to a particular region ; they are not local in their 
operations; but extended alike all over the coal regions 
of Russia, France, England, Wales, Germany, and Amer- 
ica; and by a singular coincidence, always occurred im- 
mediately after the deposition of a vein of coal! It does 
not appear to have occurred to Mr. Rogers, that while 

* Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, vol. ii. 



104 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

these earthquakes were arousing the ocean, and causing 
him to uproot forests and scatter their trees and stumps 
broadcast over the coal, the coal seam itself would have 
suffered material damage! The earthquake must have 
been tame and amiable indeed, if, with the undulations 
and the wide fissures they usually produce in the crust, 
they did not contort and ruffle the strata of coal, so that 
the subsequent layers above would have occurred in un- 
conformable order. If earthquakes aroused the ocean in 
the terrible manner described, it is at least wonderful how 
most of the coal basins maintained their horizontality, and 
the regularity of the superposition oione seam over another. 
This is, at least, wonderful ! 

It will be observed that Mr. Rogers has omitted to ac- 
count for the phenomenon of the fossil trees occurring in 
situ over small seams of coal. It may be doubted whether 
such a phenomenon could exist amid the savage depreda- 
tions of the ocean and the wave-like flexures of his earth- 
quakes. Yet, they do exist ; and there is too much sig- 
nificance in them to be cavalierly passed over. 

Now, we are told by all the Geologists whose opinions 
have been quoted, and by many others whom we have 
not thought it worth while to quote, that fossil trees have 
been found in the coal measures. They go further : they 
state that fossil trees, in an upright position, have been 
found below, above, and passing directly through small 
seams of coal. All this I can readily believe, because I 
have myself seen such fossil trees. The inference created 
by the annunciation of the fact of the existence of such 
trees on, under, and in the solid coal would naturally lead 
to several conclusions, which all the geologists themselves 
appear to have arrived at : first, that the coal was derived 
from such trees; second, thsit the trees grew where they 
are found; and third, that such trees flourished on the 
peat-bogs which they describe. All works on Geology 



rOSSIL TREES IN COAL. 105 

teem with descriptions of these fossil trees, and wood cuts 
exhibiting the quarries and situations in which they were 
found. Since Mr. Hawkshaw's discovery in 1839, more 
than two hundred other trees and stumps have been found 
in England, France, Scotland, and Nova Scotia. Nearly 
all these occur in the coal measures, either immediately 
over, under, or in the coal vein. Those that I have seen 
in the anthracite coal regions, are directly over the vein of 
coal. Assuming, then, that they all grew on the peat 
marshes that produced the coal, is it not singular that none 
of the trees themselves should have been converted into coal ? 
Is it not incredible that all the trees thus described with 
so much learning and scientific acumen, instead of being 
coal, are converted into shale, or silex, or carbonate of 
lime! Prof. Lyell mentions one solitary instance, among 
the numerous fossil trees/ and forests which he describes, 
of trees being converted into coal. These were found in a 
vein of coal in Wolverhampton, in England. There were no 
less than seventy-five trees, with their roots attached, oc- 
cupying a space of one -fourth of an acre. The trunks, 
broken off close to the root, were lying prostrate in every 
direction, often crossing each other. One of them mea- 
sured fifteen, another thirty feet in length, and others less. 
" They were," says the Professor, '' invariably flattened to 
the thickness of one or two inches, and converted into coal. " 
In the case of Mr. Hawkshaw's trees, they are described 
as having a thin "coating of coal, so friable that it crum- 
bled to pieces on removing the shale." And the solid 
trunks of these trees, like all the others described by Mr. 
Lyell, were also converted into shale, or sand, or lime. 

I have myself seen thousands and thousands of frag- 
ments of fossil trees, and occasionally their solid round 
trunks ; but never, in a solitary instance, was the woody 
structure converted into coal. I have made inquiry, and 
wherever such cases were reported, have gone to some 



106 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

trouble to ascertain the facts. In every instance I found 
that the woody trunk, when flattened, was merely 
surrounded by coal, but the interior was converted into 
dark shale. The Scientific Association of Pottsville, in 
one of their publications, proclaimed that they had dis- 
covered fossils in the coal, and thus created the inference 
that such fossils were themselves coal. On examining the 
specimens, I found numerous stems of plants, and limbs 
of trees in the coal, and every where surrounded by it; but 
the stems and fragments of trees were themselves converted 
into slate. If a scientific body, operating in the midst of 
the most prolific coal field in the world, and surrounded 
by specimens of the coal vegetation from all quarters of 
the country, could thus inadvertently create a false im- 
pression by means of its authorized publications, I feel 
that it would be no discourtesy to the well-known judg- 
ment and critical scrutiny of Mr. Lyell to infer that, in 
this instance, he may also have fallen into an error. I have 
seen the flattened trunks of Sigillaria, extending for fifty 
feet over veins of coal, exactly in the manner described 
by him ; but on close examination they were found to be 
surrounded by coal, while the interior woody structure of 
the trunk was invariably converted into slate. I have 
observed on more than a thousand occasions, the solid 
iimbs of trees imbedded in the slates of the coal veins, 
converted into sandstone, iron pyrites, and slate ; but 
never have I seen them carbonized. And whenever they 
occur in the coal itself, which is very rarely the .case, they 
still maintain their slaty character. But while the interior 
of the fossils is always slate, sand, or clay, the outside is 
as invariably coal, especially where the wood has been 
flattened by pressure. Of the thousands of specimens of 
Sigillaria, Stigmaria, Lepidodendria, and Calamites, that 
I have found in the coal mines, I have never yet met any 
that did not exhibit traces of coal on the outside, while 



AN IMPORTANT MISTAKE CORRECTED. 101 

most of tliem were coated with a thin stratum of it. 
This tliiii coating of coal is supposed by nearly every 
geologist who has described it, to be the hark of the tree. 
But a moment's reflection and a closer scrutiny will 
effectually dispel this idea. The scars of the Sigillaria, 
and the exterior marks of the Lepidodendria and Stigmaria, 
were all produced by the detached leaves. They therefore 
occur on the hark, exactly as similar scars are produced on 
the outer covering of the recent shoots of pine trees. Now 
in all fossils the coating of coal is invariably and necessarily 
over these scars, and they can seldom be seen at all until 
the coal is removed. The coal exhibits no trace of woody 
structure ; instead of being fibrous, it is decidedly vitreous, 
resinous, and hrittle, and invariably increases in thickness 
with the line of pressure to which the tree had been ex- 
posed. This proves, first, that the coal had been in a soft 
and viscid condition ; and second, that it was expelled 
from the interior woody cells of the tree in the form of 
turpentine, oil, bitumen, or a peculiar resinous tar. The 
proofs of this are overwhelming and undeviating. Some- 
times, indeed, the juices may have been extracted, for the 
most part, before the tree became fossilized, in which case 
the amount of coal is small ; but whenever the tree was 
exposed to pressure while its juices were retained, the 
coating of coal on the outside is iiyiiformly present in 
greater or less abundance. I therefore lay it down as a 
broad axiom in my experience, tliat pure anthracite coal 
is the chemically -changed resinous matter discharged by 
the coal vegetation ; and that it is impossible to detect in 
such pure coal any traces of vegetable structure. 

The elementary substances which enter into the com- 
position of all vegetables, arc conBned to a small number 
— as oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, lime, silex, 
alumina, magnesia, potash, soda, and iron. These con- 
stitute the greater portion of the list. Plants, however, 



108 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

are endowed witli the powers of assimilating and combin- 
ing these various substances into compounds, assuming 
various forms and properties. The chief of these vege- 
table compounds are gum, sugar, farina or starch, gluten, 
albumen, fibrina, extract, tannin, coloring matter, bitter 
principle, narcotic principle, alcohol, acids, oils, wax, 
resins, gum resins, balsams, camphor, caoutchouc, cork, 
lignin, or woody fibre, sap, proper juice ; while the simple 
or uncombined products are carbon or charcoal, the 
mineral alkalies, earthly and metallic oxydes. 

It is unnecessary here to remind the reader of the large 
family of trees existing at the present era, which discharge 
the various kinds of gums, glutens, starches, albumens, 
and acids, known in commerce, manufactures, medicine, 
and domestic economy. The variety is altogether innu- 
merable, and the extent incalculable. But while the 
animal kingdom, including the human species, is now 
and always have been wholly supported by the vegeta- 
tion of the earth, it is a singular fact that the coal vegeta- 
tion resembles that now existing only in its ferns and 
coniferous trees — trees upon which animals cannot subsist. 
We may look in vain among these fossils for any thing 
resembling the grains, fruits, nuts, and roots, upon which 
animal life is now sustained. There is no trace among 
them of wheat, rice, corn, or the grasses known to agri- 
culture. There are no remains of the date, the palm, or 
the potato ; of carrots, turnips, radish, cabbage, beet, 
lettuce, or rhubarb ; of peas, beans, cherries, strawberries, 
or gooseberries ; there are none of apples, pears, plums, 
quinces, peaches, oranges, and grapes. There were no 
flowers, nor nutritious fruits, nor seeds, nor nuts, nor 
roots ; — and why wan this ? The reason is simple and 
obvious. There were then absolutely no animals breath- 
ing the air on the land, and there was consequently no use 
whatever for a vegetation such as we noio have in every 



EXISTING CONIFFROUS TREES. 109 

portion of the globe. Would not Moses have made a 
fatal blunder, if, with the knowledge we now have of the 
coal vegetation, he had inadvertently introduced air- 
breathing animals into the picture, as some of our geolo- 
gists, with less foresight, have ventured to do ? But, 
instead of the fruits and flowers and 'waving grain that 
now suiTound us, the earth then produced trees like those 
of the lofty pines, and it was from the^e that the coal and 
various other substances allied to it were mainly extracted. 
There was then no immediate use for the vegetation 
itself; but the resinous juices which it secreted were to be 
entombed in the crust of the earth for the future purposes 
of man ; — to subserve the designs of those great future 
eras, when, owing to the changed physical character of 
the earth, their production, distillation, and deposition 
would have been utterly impossible. The far-seeing 
sagacity of the great Author of the world is thus con- 
tinually manifested ; and we perceive at every step how 
uniformly consistent, great, and harmonious, are all his 
decrees. 

There can be no doubt whatever that the forests of the 
carboniferous period largely predominated in coniferous 
trees, and that our beds of coal have been derived from 
their resinous secretions. I propose to give my reasons 
for this inference in due season ; but in the mean time it 
is necessary to understand as nearly as we can the nature 
of the trees in question. This may be arrived at, in some 
measure, by studying the features of those now existing 
which the ancient trees most resembled. 

The Coniferae belong chiefly to the class moncecia and 
polyandria of Linnaeus, and the gymnosperm phanero- 
gamiae of Jussieu. The existing family has been divided 
into thirteen genera, each containing a large number of 
species. The genera consist of, ' 1. Pinus, or the fir ; 
2. Abies, the spruce; S.Larix, the larch; 4. Shubertia, 



110 , THE THIRD DAY— GEOLOGICAL. 

deciduous cypress; 5. Gwpressis, or cypress ; 6. Thuga, 
or arbor vitse ; 7. Juniperus, or juniper ; 8. Auraucaria, 
or New Holland pine; 9. Belis, or javelin-shaped; 10. 
Agathus, or dammer pine; 11. Exocarpus, or cypress- 
like ; 12. Podocarpus, or Chinese pine ; 13. Taxus, or the 
yew. 

The distinct species of the innus enumerated by botan- 
ists are upwards of twenty. None of these bear flat 
leaves, but a sort of spines, which, however, are true 
leaves. They are mostly evergreens ; but the appearance 
of the tree, as well as the quality of the timber, varies 
with the species, as also with the situation in which it 
grows. Generally speaking, the timber is the more hard 
and durable the colder the situation and the slower the 
tree grows ; and in peculiar situations it is not uncommon 
to find the northern half of a pine hard and red, while the 
southern half, though considerably thicker from the pith 
to the bark, is white, soft, and spongy. 

In the peat-bogs of Scotland, the remains of pine trees 
are very abundant ; and such is their durability, in conse- 
quence of the turpentine i\\Qj contain, that, w^here the 
birch is reduced to a pulp, and the oak cracks into 
splinters as it dries, the heart of the pine remains fresh, 
and, embalmed in its own turpentine, is quite elastic, and 
used by the country people in place of candles. 

The wild pine of Scolland {pinm sHventris) is widely diffused; and is 
found growing in a state of nature in mnny situations. It is indigenous 
in tlie Alps, in the north of Germany, in Sweden and Norwaj', and in 
Russia. In favorable situations, it attains a height of eighty feet, and 
fuom four to five feet in diameter. The trunk is covered with a thick and 
deeply-farrowed bark; the leaves are in pairs, of a pale- green color, stiff, 
twisted, and about three inches long; the flowers are of a yellowish tint, 
and the cones are grayish, of a middling thickness, and a little shorter 
than the leaves. Each scale is surmounted by a retorted spine. There 
are several varieties of this pine. The pinus silvestris is that which yields 
the red wood; even young trees of this sort become red in their wood, 



EXISTING RESINOUS TREES, 111 

and full of resin very soon. Pines generally are found growing inforettB, 
or clustered together. In this position they grow tall and upright, with 
few lateral branches, except near the top. This pine very often, though 
not in trees completely matured, contains sap-wood next the bark, and 
toward the pith is a little spongy. The pines generally occur in much 
more extensive forests, and with a far less admixture of other trees, than 
any other genus whatever. Though it is not the last timber met with on 
the confines of the snow, as we ascend high mountains, or at the verge of 
vegetation as we approach the pole, yet, after a certain elevation, and 
north of the latitude of about fifty degrees, it is by far the most aljundant 
timber in Europe, America, and Asia. Along the St. Lawrence, and in the 
British possessions north, large quantities of tar have for many years 
been distilled from it for the European market. 

The other European species of the pine are : the Corsican {p. laricio), 
which is nearly allied to the Scotch pine. Prof. Thonia considers it 
equally hardy with the Scotch pine; but its wood is more weighty and 
resinous. It grows wild on the summits of the highest mountains in 
Corsica^ The Cluster pine {p. pinaster) is a grand and picturesque tree, 
and is a great favorite with the Roman and Florentine painters. The 
Stone pine {p. pinea) is very common in the south of Italy. The seeds 
of this and the cluster pine are eaten in Italy, both by the poor and rich. 
They are as sweet as almonds, but partake slightly of a turpentine flavor. 
The wood is not so resinous as most of the other species. The Siberian 
pine {p. ceruhra), the tennebaum of Byron's Childe Harold, grows higher 
in the Alps than any other tree ; and is found in elevations where the larch 
will not grow. The peasants of the Tyrol make various carved works 
with the wood, and sell them in Switzerland, where the common people 
are fond of the resinous smell which it exhales. The Canary pine {p. 
canariensis) grows in the mountains of the Canary Islands. The wood 
is resinous and highly inflammable. 

Of American species of the pine, Michaux enumerates ten. Of these, 
the Red Pine (p. rubra) is found in Canada and the northern parts of the 
United States. It occupies small tracts of a few hundred acres, either 
alone or mingled with the white pine. The wood has a fine grain, and is 
very resinous. It is largely produced in Maine, and along the shores of 
Lake Champlain. The Yellow pine (p. mitis) is very widely diffused in 
North America, It is a beautiful and symmetrical tree, the branches 
forming a pyramid at the summit. The concentric circles of the wood 
are six times as numerous in a giyen space as those of the pitch or lob- 
lolly pines. The heart is fine-grained, and modei*ately resinous. The 
Long-leaved pine (p. custralis) is also known as the yellow pitch, broom, 
and Georgia pine. It is first seen near Norfolk, in Virginia, where the 
pine barrens begin ; and it extends over the lower part of the Carolinai 



112 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

and the States of Georgia and Florida. Its mean stature is about sixty 
feet, with a uniform diameter of eighteen inches for two-thirds of its 
stem. The leaves are a foot long, of a beautiful brilliant green. The 
cones are also very large ; the seeds are generally abundant, the kernel 
being of an agreeable taste, and is voraciously eaten by wild turkeys, 
squirrels, and swine. In some years, however, wholef forests for hundreds 
of miles will not yield a single cone. The wood is compact, fine-grained, 
durable, and susceptible of a fine polish. It is from this tree that the 
principal supply of pitch, resin, and turpentine is obtained; the pine 
barrens, being of vast extent, afford an abundant supply of those ma- 
terials, both for home and foreign consumption. I shall speak of tlie 
processes for obtaining these substances very shortly. 

The Pitch pine (p. rigida) is another very resinous species, very com- 
mon all over the United States, but particularly abundant along the At- 
lantic/ coast. It is a very branchy tree, and the wood is consequently 
knotty. The bark is thick, of a dark color, and deeply furrowed. The 
concentric circles are far apart, and three -fun rths of the larger stocks con- 
sist of sap. 

The White Pino {p. st7'obus) is one of the most abundant and valuable 
trees in America, and derives its name from the perfect whiteness of the 
wood. It grows extensively between the parallels of forty-three and 
forty-seven degrees, in almost all varieties of soil ; but attains its greatest 
dimensions in New Hampshire, Vermont, and near the source of the 
St. Lawrence. This ancient and majestic inhabitant of the North Ameri- 
can forests is still the loftiest and most valuable of their productions : and 
its summit is seen waving at an immense distance toward heaven, far 
above the heads of the surrounding trees. It is the foremost ia taking 
possession of barren districts, and the most hardy in resisting the impetu- 
ous gales from the ocean. On young stocks, not exceeding forty feet in 
height, the bark of the trunk and branches is smooth and polished; but 
as the tree advances in age, it splits and becomes rugged, but does not 
fall off in scales like that of other pines. The wood is soft and light, and 
is extensively used in the United States for architectural purposes, as 
also in Great Britain. It is not resinous enough to furnish turpentine for 
commerce; nor would the labor of extracting it be easy, because of its 
diffusion in small tracts, and its admixture with other forest trees. 

The Firs or Spruces (abiea) form another genus of the Coni/erce, differ- 
ing from the pines in the form and position of the leaves, as well as in 
the general aspect of the trees. In the firs, the leaves are generally 
shorter than in the pines, and placed solitary instead of in pairs. The 
Norway Spruce Fir (ahiea communis) is a beautiful and stately tree. It 
is one of the tallest of European firs. The leaves are solitary, slightly 
arehed, and of a dark green color, which gives the tree a sombre aspect. 



THE FAMILY OP RESTNOUS PINES. 113 

The cones are cylindrical, five or six inches in length, and contain small 
winged seeds. By incision it yields resin and pitch. The tops or young 
sprouts give the flavor to " Spruce beer." The white, black, and red 
spruces are natives of America, and nearly resemble those of Europe. 

The Silver Fir (a. picea ) is one of the most beautiful of this family. 
When standing alone developing itself naturally, its branches, which are 
numerous and thickly garnished with leaves, diminish in length as they 
approach the top, and thus form a pyramid of perfect regularity. The 
upper surface of the leaves is of a vivid green; and the under surface has 
two white lines running lengthwise on each side of the midrib, giving the 
leaves that silvery look from whence the common name is derived. The 
wood is light and slightly resinous, and inferior to that of the common 
pine. The resin of the tree is sold in England and the United States, 
under the names of Balsam, or balm of Gilead, although the true balm of 
Gilead is produced from an entirely different tree, the amyris Gileadenaia. 

Pinna Douglasii. This tree grows to the height of two hundred and 
thirty feet, and is fifty feet in circumference at the base. It has a rough 
corky bark, from an inch to twelve inches thick. The leaves resemble 
those of the spruce, and the cones are small. The timber is good and 
heavy. This pine abounds in Oregon, California, and Washington Terri- 
tory, where it forms extensive forests, extending along the shores of the 
Pacific Ocean to the Rocky Mountains. It is impregnated with resin. 

Pinua Lamhertiana. This tree abounds in California, where it is dis- 
persed over the country, but not in large forests. Like the other, it at- 
tains the most extraordinary dimensions — often exceeding two hundred 
and twenty feet in length, and sixty feet in circumference at the base. 
The cones average sixteen inches in length. The seeds are eaten, roasted 
or pounded into cakes. The tree bears much resemblance to the spruces ; 
and like them, its turpentine is of a pure amber color, and the timber soft 
and white. One singular property of this tree is, that when tip timber 
is partly burned, the turpentine loses its peculiar flavor, and acquires a 
sweetish taste. The Indians use it instead of sugar. 

The Larch {larix communis) is, after the common pine, probably the most 
valuable of the tribe. The name seems to be derived from the Celtic, in 
allusion to the resinous juice which it exudes. Dioscorides remarks that 
larix is the Gallic name for resin. Though a native of the mountains of 
more northern regions, it thrives extremely well in Great Britain. The 
bark of the larch is more than half as valuable as that of oak in tannin, 
and the tree yields turpentine by incision. The black larch of America, 
(I.pendula) called by the Indians tamaraekc, resembles the European spe- 
cies both in appearance and the excellent quality of the wood and bark.» 

The Cedar of Lebanon (I. eedrtia). This celebrated tree is a native of the 
mountains of Libanus, Amanus, and Taurus; but it is not now to be found 



114 THE THIRD t)AY — GEOLOGICAL. 

in great numbers. The forest of Lebanon never seems to have recovered 
the havoc made by Solomon's fortyscore thousand hewers, so that there 
are now probably more cedai-s in England than in all Palestine. Its resist- 
ance to wear is not equal to that of the oak ; but it is so bitter that no insect 
whatever will touch it, and it seems to be proof against time himself. 
The timber in the temple of Apollo at TJtica was found undecayed after the 
lapse of two thousand years. Some of the most celebrated structures of 
antiquity were made of this tree. " Solomon raised a levy of thirty thou- 
sand men out of all Israel ; and he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand 
a month, by courses; and he had threescore and ten thousand that bore 
burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains. And he cov- 
ered the temple with beams and boards of cedar. And he built chambers 
against it, which rested on the house, with timber of cedar. And the ce- 
dar of the house within was carved with knobs and flowers ; all was ce- 
dar, there was no stone seen." Thus writes the sacred historian, who 
mentions that the same monarch had a palace of cedar in the forest of 
Lebanon. Ancient writers notice that the ships of Sesostris, the Egyptian 
conqueror, were formed of this timber; as was also the gigantic statue of 
Diana in the temple of Ephesus. The description of the cedar of Lebanon 
by the prophet Ezekiel is fine and true : " Behold the Assyrian was a cedar 
in Lebanon, with fair branches, and of an high stature ; and his top was 
among the thick boughs. His boughs were multiplied, and his branches 
became long. The fir trees were not like his boughs, nor the chestnut 
trees like his branches ; nor any tree in the garden of God like unto him 
in beauty." 

The Tew Tree (taxus baccata) is a native of Europe, of North America, 
and the Japanese isles. The trunk and branches grow very straight; the 
bark is cast annually; the wood is red and veined; it is compact, hard, 
and elastic. The yew tree was also consecrated — one or more being in 
every church-yard, and they were held sacred. In former times, in funeral 
processions, the branches were carried over the dead by the mourners. 
Being an evergreen, it was thus made typical of the immortality of the 
souL 

The Cypress (cypresaus sempervirens) obtains its name from the Island 
of Cyprus, where it grows in great abundance. Of all timber, that of the 
cypress is the most durable, superior even to that of cedar itself. The 
doors of St. Peter's Church, in Rome, which had been formed of this 
material in the time of Constantino, showed no sign of decay when, after 
the lapse of eleven hundred years. Pope Eugenius IV. took them down to 
replace them by gates of brass. In order to preserve the remains of their 
.heroes, the Athenians buried them in cofl&ns of cypress ; and the cofi&ns 
in which the Egyptian mummies are found are usually of the same tim- 
ber. Like the yew, it was carried in funeral processions, and strewn 



EXISTING CONIFEROUS TREES. Il6 

over the graves of the dead. The White Cedar is a native of America; 
its growth is slow; but it is hardy, and forms a good variety in clumps 
of evergreens. Arbor vitoc {ihrija occidentalis), when burnt, gives out an 
agreeable odor, and was used by the ancients at their sacrifices. It is a 
native of Canada. It grows well in swamps and marshes. A Chinese 
species (c. orientalis) resembles it, and both are readily propagated by 
cuttings, seeds, or layers. 

Norfolk Island Pine (auraucan'a cxcelm) attains a gigantic size, often 
measuring two hundred and twenty feet in height. It is a native of Aus- 
tralia, and presents a magnificent object, with its bright evergreen foliage, 
and innumerable waving branches. The leaves are closely imbricated, 
inflexed, and pointless. The longitudinal section of the wood, with all 
the distinctive marks of the Coniferae, exhibits the peculiarity of three 
rows of oval disks. From this circumstance, the fossil trees of Craig- 
leith quarry (previously referred to by me) have been identified with the 
auraucaria of Norfolk Island. Other fossil trees occurring in coal beds 
have likewise been identified Avith it. Sir J. Bank's auraucaria (a. inibri- 
cata) is also a beautiful variety of this species. 

The Juniper {juniperia covimvnis) is common in all the northern parts 
of Europe. It flourishes everywhere, but grass will not grow under it. 
Wood is hard and durable ,• the bark is so tenacious that it may be formed 
into ropes, and the berries are used for imparting flavor to gins, A gum 
oozes spontaneously from the trunks of old plants, which forms the gum 
sandarack, and in its powdered form is known as pounce. The berries 
and tops, by distillation, are largely used for medicines. Bermuda Cedar 
Wood is the product of a West Indian species of Juniper. The Red Cedar 
(j. virgincaria) is one of the highesc timber trees in Jamaica. The wood 
is bitter, and hence avoided by insects. Common Savin [j. sabina) is a 
plant which only attains the size of a few feet in England, but is found 
as a tree in some of the Greek Island.'^. The leaves and tops have a dis- 
agreeable odor, and a bitter, hot taste. These qualities are owing to an 
essential oil, which is obtained in large quantity by distillation. Gum 
OHbanum, supposed to be the incense of the ancients, and the substance 
now used in the Catholic churches, is the product of the juniper licia. 
Allied to the Coniferae is the family of plants, Myrica, or candleberry 
myrtle. One of these, the sweet gale, is very abundant in bogs and 
marshes of Scotland. It is a small shrub, with leaves like the myrtle or 
willow, of a fragrant odor and bitter taste, and yielding an essential oil 
by distillation. The cones, boiled in water, throw up a scum resembling 
bees'-wax, which, collected in sufficient quantity, serve for candles. 
3Tyrica Conifera, or Tallow Shrub, is common in North America, where 
candles are made from a decoction of the berry. It grows in wet soils, 



116 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOaiCAL. 

or near the sea. A soap is also made from it, and in the Caroliuas it is 
used for sealing-wax. 

The Tallow Tree {Groton Sebiferum) yields a substance very much like 
tallow, and in China, where it grows abundantly, candles are extensively 
produced from it. The Piney Tree {vateria Indica) growing on th§^ east 
coast of Malabar, yields a substance very similar to the foregoing, and is 
also very extensively employed in the production of candles, being supe- 
rior, in many respects, to animal tallow. A resin, very similar to copal 
varnish, exudes from the same tree, and furnishes a very durable varnish. 
This resin is often mixed with the tallow, and applied as a substitute for 
tar in smearing the bottoms of boats.* 

Such, in brief, are the existing coniferous trees, and 
there is abundant reason to believe that they are analo- 
gous to those of the coal-bearing period. The leading 
characteristic of the whole order, it will be observed (aside 
from their structural features), is their secretion of resins, 
oils, tallows, and turpentines, in varied qualities. These 
exudations, by a distillation presently to be described, 
have furnished the various beds of coal, mineral bitumen, 
asphalt, and anthracite, distributed over the earth. As I 
remarked before, I do not think that the ferns contributed 
materially to the formation of the coal, inasmuch as they 
secreted no resinous or inflammable juices. It is a curi- 
ous fact, that immediately over the coal veins of the Alle- 
ghany mountains, which extend over eight hundred miles 
in length, the trees which abound most largely in these 
resinous secretions, are now found growing in native 
strength and vigor, and constitute the prevailing species 
of the forests ; while underneath their tall and overarching 
tops many species of the fossil Fern are also found in ex- 
traordinary abundance ! Of the two hundred species of 
fossilized Fern in my collection, there are many that can 

■-••" I abridge my description of the living Coniferce mainly from Rhind'a 
History of the Vegetable Kingdom, and the Library of Entertaining KnoW' 
ledge, London editions. 



DIVERSITY OF VEGETATION EXPLAINED. lit 

be found growing immediately over the rocks in which 
they were imbedded I This is a singular fact, and sug- 
gests the idea obscurely intimated by Moses, that the 
seeds of vegetation are within themselves upon the earth — 
that is, the seeds of vegetation of a previous age, may be 
buried in the soil to germinate anew at subsequent pe- 
riods I The comparative absence of the trunks of pine trees 
in the coal, may be accounted for on the supposition of their 
enormous dimensions as well as distance from the scene 
of resinous accumulation ; while, on the other hand, we 
can trace a close alliance between them and the extinct 
Lepidodendria, the Sigillaria, and the Stigmaria. I have 
foijnd many cones in the coal, of the most perfect and 
dissimilar structure — showing that, like the cone-bearing 
trees now living, there were originally many different va- 
rieties. But the extraordinary abundance and variety 
of the Ferns now growing in the coal regions, and their 
absolute identity with the fossil specimens, leads me to 
believe that, wherever the strata of the coal or Devonian 
measures have been uptilted, or brought to the surface, 
and the soil preserved in its native condition, free from 
obstructions or cultivation, the original seeds of the an- 
cient vegetation have again germinated. The very fact 
that the words of Moses seem to authorize such an infer- 
ence, leads me to give it paramount weight. How else 
could these seeds have been diftused ? It will not serve 
our purpose to suppose that birds and animals could, by 
any possible means, disseminate seeds in such profusion, 
and in localities so exactly corresponding with the same 
plants and trees imbedded in the shales below ! This 
would have been next to impossible ; especially as every 
geological formation appears to have had originally, and 
has still, when unobstructed by. cultivation, a vegetation 
peculiar to itself Wherever there is coal, or, rather, 
wherever the coal measures outcrop, the ferns and resin- 



118 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

ous pines abound ; and are frequently found to be similar 
to the fossil specimens. These, however, may have been 
removed some distance from the place of their growth, 
and due allowances should be made in such cases ; yet 
the great fact still stands forth in its integrity, and seems 
to defy any other process of interpretation. Wherever 
the pines or coniferae and ferns now abound, as natives of 
the soil, coal, in some form or other, is morally certain to 
exist in close proximity. 

Upon the basis of this hypothesis, we can readily 
account for all the diversity which exists in vegetation — for 
primarily, every geological era has furnished in its rocks 
and shales the seeds for future generations. The Almighty 
Creator scattered the seeds of vegetation in the beginning, 
and every subsequent era brings forth its exhaustless 
crops — exhaustless, because the soil itself is exhaustless. 
It was only at the creation of man that he planted a 
garden in Eden, and then, for the first time, introduced 
fruits and grains, and the varied sorts of nuts, melons, 
and esculents, so essential to man and the animal creation. 
Previous to that time there was no necessity for fruits, 
and the domestic vegetables ; land animals, properly so 
understood, having had no existence. With the creation 
of man, however, (or in anticipation of his creation,) an 
entire new order of vegetation was introduced, embracing 
every fruit and garden and field product now known, and 
including all the flowers that bloom and dispense their 
fragrance over the earth. 

But it may be urged against this hypothesis, that the 
fossilization of the seeds would utterly have destroyed 
their fructifying principle. This, at first thought, would 
appear likely ; but in the case of the coal vegetation, it 
has little force. In the first place, the shales overlying 
the coal are not ahvays hard and indurated ; and when 
they are, a brief exposure to the air decomposes them. 



TAR-PITS OF NORTH CAROLINA. 119 

All the coal shales are, in fact, nothing but baked mud, 
but it is mud composed of the very finest particles of 
earth. When the vegetation grew, the seeds of the pines, 
concealed in the resinous cones, were scattered in this soft 
mud, and the turpentine and tar with which they were 
surrounded served to coat them, and to place around them 
an air-tight envelope which would preserve them as 
effectually for one hundred million of years as for one 
year. The soft mud was afterward baked by the heat 
below and the pressure from above, and thus became, in 
process of time, compact slate. The same process will 
apply equally to sandstones mixed with argillaceous clay 
and vegetable mould ; and as every geological formation 
abounds in these rocks, the preservation of the smaller 
seeds, by an air-tight oleaginous coating, is rendered as 
probable in one geological formation as in another. In 
the case of those trees which bear nuts, as the oaks, the 
chestnuts, etc., they had no existence in the Paleozoic 
periods, and it would therefore be useless to assume that 
they had been similarly preserved. Wheat, it is well 
known, has been preserved in the catacombs of Egypt for 
several hundred years, and upon being planted, has 
brought forth prolific crops. 

Tar, for local use, is produced in all the coal regions; 
but in Xorth and South Carolina it forms, with turpentine, 
pitch or resin, an article of very extensive export to 
foreign countries. In the pine forests of those States, the 
sap or turpentine begins to circulate in the tree during the 
month of March, and the accumulation proceeds and in- 
creases Avith the warm weather, generally attaining the 
the maximum in the month of August. When the sap 
manifests itself, incisions are cut in the base of the tree, 
beneath which boxes are placed to receive it as it exudes. 
Sometimes three or four incisions are made, of variable 
depth, and at different spaces — from all of which the tree 



120 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

freely bleeds. The ground around the tree has to be 
carefully cleared of all dry weeds and brush, to prevent 
any liability of fire from the inflammable character of the 
liquid, which is often scattered around, through the care- 
lessness of those in attendance. At the commencement 
it usually requires about two weeks to fill the boxes with 
turpentine — each of them holding from one to two quarts 
of the liquor. When the exterior sap is extracted, deeper 
incisions are again made, penetrating through at least 
four of the annual rings of the wood, and thus tapping the 
more vital parts of the tree, which, however, will continue 
to yield sap for five or six years afterward. When the 
receiving boxes are filled, the sap is transferred by wooden 
ladles into barrels; and this completes the process. The 
turpentine thus obtained is of the purest quality, from 
which the oil or spirit of turpentine is afterward distilled. 
The process for extracting tar from the yellow pine or 
the long-leaved pines of the Carolinas, is exactly similar 
to that of coking bituminous coal. A round space is 
cleared in the forest, gradually sloping to one side. The 
space thus cleared is formed into a concave basin, and the 
ground beaten down with mallets to render it hard and 
compact. From the centre of the cavity a ditch is dug 
in the direction of the outward slope. Billets of pine 
wood, stumps, knots, roots, and branches, are now arranged 
in circular form, layer after layer, around the space thus 
prepared. The sticks are set up on end, and the pile of 
wood and branches terminates in a gradually sloping 
dome. The dome thus erected is covered over by leaves, 
branches, and loose material, and the whole then inclosed 
with a layer of moist clay. A few holes are left around it 
for the admission of air. The combustible material inside 
is now ignited, and it burns with a slow, smouldering 
heat — never being allowed to burst into a flame. As the 
combustion proceeds, the tar is liberated from the cavities 



THE DEVONIAN COAL LAKES. 121 

of the wood, and draining into the centre of the conical 
pit, thence issues in a continuous stream through the ditch 
or trough running to the outside. Here it is immediately 
taken up and placed in barrels, and is thus ready for the 
market. In the Carolinas, tar is principally extracted 
from dead wood that has fallen by accident, uiid from the 
tops of the trees that have otherwise no value. The 
whole process is extremely simple ; and we may add, was 
in practice among the most ancient nations of the earth, 
as well as among the more recent. But long before the 
Greeks, or Romans, or Egyptians, applied it in their 
forests. Nature had exemplified it in her great coal basins. 
And it is a singular fact, that all the varied contrivances 
of man, for extracting, elaborating, and compounding 
different elementary substances in minerals and vegetation 
are, after all, but the primary lessons which he has learned 
in the great school of Nature. He has done nothing in 
the arts of design, in mechanism, dynamics, hydrostatics, 
or the crucible, in which he has not been anticipated. 
Nature furnishes all his models ; and he is a mere appren- 
tice in copying. But his efforts, although necessarily 
local and experimental, are sometimes noble and even god- 
like ; but those of Nature, the great teacher, are always 
infallible and universal, and she has entire globes for her 
laboratory. 

Let us now return to the Devonian Ijasins, which we 
described some time ago, and which we left fully prepared 
to receive the veins of coal so soon <is we could elaborate 
them from the apcient vegetation. It was stated that these 
basins were in many respects similar to the great inland 
seas of the northwest ; that the anthracite basin was 
much the deepest, and stood at the head of all the others, 
somewhat like that of Lake Superior. These coal basins, 
although they did not extend in a direct line, nevertheless 
communicated with each other in a manner precisely simi- 



122 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

lar to those Lakes. Superior is connected with Lake 
Huron by the St. Mary's river, which is about sixty miles 
long, and generally not over half a mile wide. The descent of 
the stream is perhaps more than thirty feet, or six inches to 
the mile. Lake Huron is connected with Lake Michigan by 
the straits of Mackinaw, which are of greater width, but 
interspersed with numerous islands and rocky promonto- 
ries. Lake Huron thus receives the waters of two great 
Lakes, and then passes them into a little shallow Lake, 
not over twenty feet deep at any place, nor over thirty 
miles Tvide, by means of the St. Clair river — a stream 
some forty miles in length, but a few hundred yards in 
width, and perhaps forty or fifty feet deep. From Lake 
St. Clair, the waters are passed through the Detroit river 
into the basin of Lake Erie. Here the}^ are thrown over 
the falls of Niagara, and then, by another very narrow 
river, not over twelve hundred feet in width and fourteen 
miles in length, they are emptied into Lake Ontario. 
They are now again discharged into a river, (the St. 
Lawrence), and after expanding somewhat into the form 
of lakes, at intervals, are finally emptied into the ocean 
■ — describing another great basin or gulf before finally 
mingling with its saline waters. The distance thus tra- 
versed, from the head of Lake Superior to the gulf of the 
St. Lawrence, is sixteen hundred and fifty miles. The 
distance from the head of the anthracite basins by the 
route originally pursued by the primitive lakes and rivers, 
to the Missouri river, was nearly the same, and when 
they reached this point, they encountered the waters of 
the ocean, which then formed a gulf over portions of the 
States of Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, 
Texas, and Nebraska, very similar to that of Mexico or the 
St Lawrence. 

After the Silurian seas had been withdrawn, the great 
lakes or basins left behind, began gradually to fill up by 



ORIGIN OP COAL EXPLAINED. 123 

the deposition of the sediment drained from the adjacent 
rocks — comprising, at some places, limestone and silt, and 
at others, sandstone or conglomerate and silt. The prairies 
were now covered with immense forests of coniferous 
trees, the woody cells and fibres of which, like those of 
our existing pines and firs, consisted mainly of resinous 
and oily secretions. These forests in all probability ex- 
tended hundreds of miles around the sloping plains of the 
lakes ; and were liable to the same contingencies of ulti- 
mate decay and destruction as existing forests. It is 
perhaps hardly worth while to remark, that they were, in 
every respect, the most enormous fields of vegetation 
which have ever yet flourished upon the face of the globe. 
While those of the humid plains of Central American and 
Brazil may convey an idea of their extent, they certainly 
could make no pretensions as rivals. If some of the 
pines we have described, can now attain the height of two 
hundred and fifty feet, there is no absolute reason why 
they should not, at this particular era, have soared still 
higher in the air, because all the circumstances that sur- 
rounded them were in the highest degree favorable to the 
most extraordinary development. The forests of South 
America are described as absolutely impenetrable by man ; 
while in California trees have recently been found of four 
hundred and fifty feet in height — or nearly twice the 
height of our loftiest steeples, and fully equal to the tower 
of Babel. While the trees themselves thus tower hun- 
dreds of feet in the air, the trunks are surrounded by 
younger shoots and weeds, which stand so close together 
that even the wild animals have difficulty in traversing 
them — some, indeed, more skillful than others, retreat to 
the thickets to escape from their enemies. The coal vege- 
tation, in addition to tropical prolificacy, was not depre- 
dated upon by prowling animals. It grew in undisturbed 
luxuriance, and attained such development that those only 



124 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

wl\o have t\ritnessed the wild and unchecked profusion of 
nature amid the tropics, can form any conception what- 
ever of its enormous extent. The atmosphere under 
which the vegetation flourished was in many essentials 
different from that which we now breathe. The propor- 
tion of carbonic acid was enormous, and while this served 
to stimulate vegetable growth, it rendered the existence of 
animal life impossible. It may not always have been 
materially warmer, as is generally supposed by geologists; 
but it certainly was more humid, and perhaps enveloped 
for the most part, in fogs and mists, such as prevail along 
the coasts of Newfoundland, where the yellow pines even 
now attain their greatest and highest development. But 
whatever heat existed, must have been mainly derived 
from the earth itself; as we shall hereafter demonstra,te 
that solar heat had as yet scarcely established itself upon 
the earth. The radiated heat of the interior would en- 
velope the surface in vapors, and these, we have every 
reason to infer, contributed largely to the growth of the 
vegetation. Growing under circumstances of extraordi- 
nary favor, the forests would at times yield to that un- 
sparing law which levels every thing with the dust. 
Whether by tempests or the overpowering gravity of their 
elevated tops, or the prostration of one upon the other — 
it is certain that entire forests would finally bend to the 
ground, to give place to a new crop. Accumulating thus 
on the sloping prairies, constantly moist and wet with the 
atmospheric exhalation and condensation, the prostrate 
vegetable material would be exposed to fermentation and 
distillation similar to that of the tar pits. Trunks and 
fragments of trees, covered over by their branches and 
leaves, and the accumulating rubbish of the forest, under 
the smouldering fermentation thus evolved by the interior 
heat of the earth, would part with their resinous and oily 
juices, while the atmosphere would be blackened with the 



ORIGIN OF .COAL EXPLAINED. 125 

Bmoke and gas. The whole earth was thus enveloped in 
the fermenting process. The gases ascending from the 
smouldering vegetation, would be arrested by the fogs and 
vapors of the atmosphere, and thrown down upon the 
earth in the form of soot and lampblack. The soot would 
accumulate like layers of snow ; and uniting with the oily 
liquids issuing from the vegetable mass, would thus be 
borne off to the waters of the adjacent lakes. All the 
streams, springs, rivers, and lakes were discharging co- 
agulated carbonaceous ink. In the absence of solar 
evaporation, nothing was lost. As the vegetable mate- 
rial went on accumulating, its resinous juices were libe- 
rated by spontaneous fermentation ^ and, both in the form 
of liquids and gases, the elements of the vegetation would 
be drained down into the lakes or basins. We can thus 
imagine the ground which supported these vasts forests of 
pine to be literally moist, spongy, and miry with the es- 
caping tar, and oils, and smoky soot ; and that in every 
direction, for hundreds of miles around the sloping plains 
drained by the lakes, the pyroligneous liquid oozed out 
of the ground in constant springs and streams. The whole 
earth, wherever the dry land had yet appeared, was thus 
covered with stupendous tar-pits, while the atmosphere, 
already humid with the vapors of radiated heat, was 
blackened with ascending smokes or enveloped in snows 
of black carbonaceous soot. The surface of the ground, 
in every direction, having been thus periodically, if not 
almost constantly under the influence of the resinous fer- 
mentation, distillation, and combustion, there was, of 
course, but little sand and sediment. It was only occasion- 
ally that the stratum of vegetable mould would be re- 
moved, and the underlying sand and clay exposed. In 
such cases the mud and sand would be carried into the 
lake, and scattered over the accumulating coal seam, or 
distributed in irregular heaps or layers ; while the mould 



126 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

resulting from the decomposition of trees, and charged 
with fragments of half-decomposed stems and branches, 
would in like manner be sometimes removed. As a gene- 
ral thing, the jfine mud and vegetable mould was scattered 
uniformly and evenly over the bottom of the lake, during 
the occasional pauses in the supply of resinous matter. 
The mud thus distributed is now the parting slate between 
the benches of the pure coal; while the faults are derived 
from the layers of sand and silt, and the deposits of half 
resinous mould and mud into which the pure coal often 
degenerates. The rock faults, however, in many cases, 
originally existed in the bottom of the lake — the resinous 
material merely collecting around and accommodating 
itself to them. The resinous matter, as a general thing, 
was evenly distributed over the bottom ; but there were, 
of course, occasional exceptions. Sometimes it would 
thin out, and give place to the original clay or sand of the 
bottom ; while again it would expand into twice its regu- 
lar thickness. These deviations, intrusions, and irregu- 
larities comprise what are now termed the faults of the 
coal veins — features which are entirely overlooked in all 
the other theories of the coal formation. 

Now, after the process here described had gone on until 
a thick layer of resinous material accumulated (somewhat 
similar to the pitch lake of Trinidad), the outlets or nar- 
row straits of the lakes became clogged, and the result 
was an unusual accumulation of water. The straits con- 
necting the coal lakes Avere essentially similar to those 
connecting the lakes of the northwest ; and it is easy to 
conceive how these could be temporarily choked up so as 
to temporarily impede the passage of the water. The 
formation of a sand-bar, rendering the water shallow, as 
in the case of the Lake St. Clair; or the drifting of logs 
and trees into the narrow perpendicular necks of the 
river (like that of Niagara), would readily suffice. This 



ORIGIN OF COAL EXPLAINED. , 12Y 

is a phenomenon of siieb frequent occurrence in all our 
mountain streams, that I take it for granted it will appear 
self-evident in this connection. The waters of the Missis- 
sippi and the Missouri, liv freshets or temporary ob- 
structions, are sometimes diverted from their course, and 
overflow the surrounding plains for forty and fifty miles. 
The passages of the coal lakes, thus obstructed in the 
narrow rivers, the waters would at once overflow the whole 
surrounding forests. The effect of this is readily percep- 
tible — all the rubbish of the forests, with the leaves, 
branches, stems, and logs, and the great bulk of the mud 
and mould of decomposed vegetation, would be removed 
and borne off into the lake. Upon the subsidence of the 
water, they would settle over the vein of coal; and the 
debris thus collected now forms the top slate in ichich are 
found all the fossil impressions known of the coal vege- 
tation. The inquiry of the geologists for large trees, an (J 
their surprise at not finding them in the coal, is thus 
easily explained. The trees that eluded the resin were 
really but seldom displaced, while the overflowing of the 
water did little injury to the forests themselves bej^ond 
the removal of their loose and scattei^ed trees, limbs, leaves, 
and vegetable mould. 

As the waters of the lake forced their way through the 
connecting straits, and subsided to their customary level, 
they again began to wear down the adjacent shore, and 
received the debris of the mud and sand exposed in con- 
sequence of the removal of the decomposed vegetable 
mould. This process continued with activity until the 
forests had accumulated another layer of resinous mate- 
rial. In the mean time, however, the low flats immedi- 
ately adjoining the lake brought forward their crops of soft 
and succulent vegetation, the most conspicuous of which 
was the plant called Stigmaria.- Recent investigations 
have led some geologists to suppose, as I have already 
9 



128 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

remarked, that this plant is the root of the Sigillaria. 
But I am of a different opinion. I have every reason to 
believe that it was a species of vine, which extended itself 
over the low and half-submerged fiats along the margins 
of the coal lakes ; and that it was borne off in the water 
and deposited hefore the regular supplies of resinous mat- 
ter reached the lake — hence it is almost invariably found 
under the veins of coal. The phenomenon of finding trees 
in an erect position, in this under clay or shale, may be 
explained in the same way. They grew on these marshy 
flats, like the trees on the flats of St. Clair ; and the wear- 
ing away of the shore on which they stood, during times 
of high water, caused their removal into the lake, where 
they would natuall}^ aettle to the bottom in a7i erect posi- 
tion. This is daily exhibited in the Mississippi, and the 
Amazon river in Brazil. Trees are undermined by the 
water, and they fall down and are borne off by the 
stream, their foliage maintaining them in an erect position. 
Sometimes their roots find a lodgment in the bottom of 
the river, and they are thus supported until sufficient sand 
has gathered around them to enable them to stand erect 
after the subsidence of the water. The whole phenomena 
of finding trees penetrating through the coal vein, and of 
lying over and under them, is to be explained in this way. 
They are the results of accident, not of geological law. 
All the trees ever found in these situations, had they been 
converted into coal {which they never are), would not 
have made a seam as thick as a sheet of paper in the great 
basins in which they occur. But the fact that they never 
furnish coal at all, except where they have been flattened 
by pressure, and their resinous sap thus squeezed out, is 
conclusive that their solid woody fibre contributed nothing 
directly to its formation. 

It is hardly necessary to observe that the process here 
described was repeated again and again, upon the deposi- 



ORIGIN or COAL EXPLAINED. l29 

tion of every subsequent layer of coal. Indeed, it was 
often partially carried out without the interposition of the 
coal — for the alternating strata show many little veins of 
slate and leaders of impure coal which have been derived 
solely from the vegetable mould of the forests. Again : 
The overflowing of the forest was not an absolute essential 
to every seam of coal. By no means. These overflowings 
were irregular, and generally terminated, for the time 
being, the flow of the oils and resins. For this reason, the 
seams of coal vary in thickness from a few inches to forty 
feet — the latter, however, are invariably separated into 
benches or laminas of coal, varying from one inch to three feet. 
These benches may be regarded as separate veins, because 
they are parted by layers of slate, mud, or sand, which 
sometimes run into very thick strata. We have already 
alluded to this fact, and mention it again only to show 
that no regularity is claimed for the floods. They some- 
times occurred during the deposition of the largest veins ; 
but whenever they did occur, the debris of the forests and 
the surrounding rocks was invariably brought into the 
lake. Again : Some of the veins of coal were deposited 
without the occurrence of floods at all. In these cases 
there is, of course, a comparative absence of top slates and 
of fossils. The vein of coal is then often overlaid by 
sandstone — or limestone — the immediate debris of the 
basin terraces. The liability of the submergence of the 
forests was, however, very great. The sloping prairies 
were in no instance elevated more than from five to ten 
feet above the level of the lakes. The Mississippi river, 
for more than fifteen hundred miles, does not descend at 
an average of over half an inch to the mile. Even the 
Ohio, which emerges from and traverses a great mountain 
slope, has a fall of only four or five inches to the mile. A 
flood of ten or fifteen feet on the lower Mississippi, will 
inundate the surrounding country for a distance of twenty 



130' " THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

■'*■ 

or thirty miles. The adjacent plantations are protected 
by means of levees ; but when a crevasse occurs, the 
mighty river extends itself for many miles over the level 
prairies, and carries off fences, logs, and all the loose 
rubbish it encounters. The river is often diverted from 
its regular channel by the deposition of sand-bars or other 
obstructions ; and so it v^as with those of the coal lakes. 
Their liability to such obstructions, as well as to great 
freshets, is sufficiently apparent by the known circum- 
stances which involve, to a greater or less extent, all ex- 
isting streams. These we can see and clearly comprehend ;,^ 
and if similar contingencies be allowed for the primitive 
rivers and lakes, we have no further difficulty whatever in 
accounting for the varied strata alternating with the seams 
of coal, nor for all the other phenomena associated with 
them. We can thus dispense Avith terrific earthquakes, 
volcanoes, upheavals, and depressions of the land, and 
satisfactorily explain all the circumstances of the origin 
and deposition of the coal, according to existing principles 
of natural causes and effects. 

But I have thus far been describing only those basins 
which are oi fresh-water origin — as the anthracite regions 
on the eastern slope of the Alleghanies. All the bitu- 
minous coal on the western slopes of those mountains 
contain marine as well as fresh-water fossils. I 1. -o 
already observed that, at the beginning of the Devc-ii.di 
period, the estuaries of the sea extended over the whole 
region of country now comprising these mountains, and 
that they vrere gra,dually receding westward, to the great 
gulf which overflowed Nebraska, Texas, Louisiana, and 
several other southwestern states. When the coal forests 
attained their vigor, these arms of the sea were met by the 
drainage 6f the land. The basins began to be separated 
by shoal water, then by sand or concretionary limestono 
bars ; then the waters of the sea were wholly withdrawn, 



ORIGIN OF COAL EXPLAINED. 131 

and the bars cut through by connecting rivers. The high 
tides may still have penetrated far eastward, especially as - 
the basins were yet on a comparative level with the sea ; 
but when the coal began to accumulate in the upper ' 
hasins, its influx was separated by longer intervals, and 
the quantities of marine fossils show a consequent dimi- 
nution and an ultimate thinning out in that direction. 
The veins of fossiliferous lime in the coal measures of 
McKean, are seldom over two feet in thickness ; on the 
Monongahela, and at Cumberland and Broad Top, they 
vary from two to twenty feet ; while at Wheeling they 
expand to forty, fifty, and sixty feet in thickness. There 
are, however, local variations ; sometimes the limestone 
does not occur at all in the eastern basins, while it may 
appear at other places three or four feet thick. The coal 
is deposited in thin seams, and was perhaps cut off by the 
influx of the sea, since the fossiliferous limestone occurs 
directly over some of the veins, without the interposition 
of the carbonaceous shale. This is a very common fea- 
ture in all the bituminous basins, not only in the United 
States, but elsewhere throughout the world. The coal 
itself, in Missouri and Illinois, is penetrated by cubical 
laminae of silex, thus showing its presence in the water 
of the basins wherever the coal was deposited. 

In going westward, we find the sea lingering for long 
periods in the coal basins. Indeed, in many cases, the 
coal was deposited in calcareous or silicious waters, some- 
what modified by the drainage of the land. The absence 
of fish and crustaceous animals in the coal, can be ac- 
counted for from the fact of its waters having been im- 
pregnated with the prevailing tar and pyroligneous juices 
of the vegetation. Upon the destruction of the vegeta- 
tion, and the purification of the waters, all these animals 
again made their appearance — though never in great 
abundance. That the waters of the sea, during the coal 



132 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

measures, never reached so far up as the anthracite 
basins, is evident from the absence of limestone, and of all 
the marine fossils which are found in those below. The 
veins in the upper bituminous basins are few and thin. The 
coal material, instead of being deposited in the immediate 
basins, on the margins of which it grew, was borne down- 
ward by the current, and helped to form the larger veins 
at Pittsburg, Cumberland, and the Monongahela. Below 
these points, a thinning out again occurred, which subse- 
quently formed the separating axis or rim between two 
basins ; and thus all the region from Pittsburg, "Wheeling, 
Pomeroy, Kanawha, and Alabama was cut up and divided 
into numerous basins, connected by narrow straits, pre- 
cisely like the fresh-water lakes of the Northwest. The 
estuaries and tides of the sea were gradually withdrawn 
as the upper basins filled up ; and the number of distinct 
veins they contain is in proportion to their depth and the 
time occupied in the filling up. The anthracite basin was 
very deep. When the coal began to accumulate, it could 
not have been less than fifteen or eighteen hundred feet. 
The depth of Lake Superior is one thousand ; and not- 
v^ithstanding the extraordinary purity of its waters, and 
their freedom from sediment, it must originally have been 
at least twice the present depth. The depth of all the 
other lakes is considerably less — that of St. Clair not 
being over twenty feet, while the surrounding flats, em- 
bracing millions of acres of surface, have apparently just 
emerged from the water. And it was thus with the lower 
and some of the intermediate coal lakes ; but while many 
of them, like St. Clair, filled up at an early day, the an- 
thracite bashi continued deep, like Superior, and it went 
on quietly accumulating its coal, layer after layer. 

The numerous deposits and veins of asphalt, chapapote, 
bitumen, petroleum, pitch, condidum, and other liquid and 
solid combustibles, occurring in various quarters of the 



PITCH LAKE OF TRINIDAD. 133 

globe, may here be briefly referred to in further illustra- 
tions of the formation of coal. The celebrated pitch lake 
of Trinidad, lying upon one of the West Indian Islands 
of that name, is said to be three miles in circumference ; 
but its thickness or depth is unknown, from the difficulty 
of measuring it. It occupies the highest land in the is- 
land, and emits a strong resinous odor, sensible at a dis- 
tance of ten miles. Its first appearance is that of a lake 
of water ; but when viewed at a nearer point, it seems to 
be a surface of glass. In hot weather, it liquifies to the 
depth of an inch or more, and cannot then be walked 
upon. The geological data in the vicinity exhibit tra<|BS 
of volcanic action ; and not only in the lake itself, but in 
the neighborhood, are seen holes and fissures, sometimes 
containing liquid bitumen or petrol oil. Fissures of great 
length, from four to six feet wide, traverse the surface of 
this lake, in every direction, and are generally filled with 
water. The consistence and general appearance of the 
pitch or bitumen, when hard, is similar to that of coal, 
only the color is rather greyer. It is very brittle, and 
breaks into small cellular glassy fragments. Some of the 
more elevated parts of the surface are covered with thin 
brittle scoriae. The pitch is used for coating ships, and 
thereby protecting them from that pest of the West Indian 
8eas, the teredo, or borer; it is also applied as an ordinary 
varnish, and in some other minor uses. Not far from this 
lake, and near the sea shore, both coal and schistose plum- 
bago are found in considerable abundance. Lignite, or 
brown coal, also exists. Near the same island, south of 
Cape de la Brea, is a submarine volcano, which occasion- 
ally boils up and discharges a quantity of petroleum. 
Another occurs on the east side of the island, which throws 
up on the shore masses of bitumen, black and brilliant as 
jet. It would appear that the island is underlaid with 
seams of petroleum oils and gas, which are thus injected 



134 THE THIRD DAY— GEOLOGICAL. 

to the surface by the expansive force of the latter. The 
pitch of the lake evaporates the carburetted hydrogen, 
thus parting with a portion of the oil with which it was 
originally associated. This is sufficiently manifest in the 
fact that efforts long since made to use it as ordinary 
vegetable tar or pitch, have failed to make it available or 
profitable, because it requires too much oil to be mixed 
with it. The substance is passing, by gradual transitions, 
from its original condition of petroleum into that of bitu- 
minous coal. 

The Chapapote of Cuba, commonly called coal, is mined 
iJ the same manner as the latter mineral, and appears in 
several positions in the rocks in the vicinity of Havana and 
Matanzas, in enormous deposits. It occurs in the fissures 
of stratified rocks, in wedge-shaped veins, enlarging from 
the surface downward, thereby indicating its origin from 
below, among magnesian and metamorphic rocks of ser- 
pentine, diorites, and euphotides, accompanied with quartz 
and chalcedony, and sometimes copper. The heat which 
metamorphosed the rocks also expelled the petroleum, 
which thus solidified in the caverns and fissures of the 
upper strata. Chemical essays of this chapapote show : 
of carbon, 34.97 ; volatile matter, 63.00; ashes or cinders, 
2.03 = 100. A mine situated six miles from Havana, and 
which was described by M. Castales, in 1842, was found to 
contain a deposit forty-eight yards deep, perpendicularly, 
and more than one hundred and .eighty feet in horizontal 
extent. The bottom, however, had never been reached, 
but the explorations made indicated one of the greatest 
deposits of mineral asphalt or bitumen ever found in the 
world. While the chapapote exists in many places on the 
island, whenever a disturbance of the strata has occurred, 
flowing springs of petroleum are no less abundant. Some 
of these springs have been known for more than two cen- 
turies. Indeed, the whole island is penetrated with bitu- 



PETROLEUM IN CUBA. 135 

minous matter to a most surprising extent. Even the solid 
quartz, the serpentine rocks, and the veins of chalcedony, 
have cells and cavities filled with liquid pitch ; and the air 
is scented with it when these rocks are broken by the blows 
of a hammer. In this respect it resembles the mineral 
pitch found filling the cavities of chalcedony and calc-spar 
in Russia.* Even in the bay of Havana, the shore, at 
low water, abounds with asphalt and bituminous shale in 
sufficient quantity for the paying of vessels as a substitute 
for tar. It is stated that, in buccaneering times, signals 
used to be made by firing masses of this chapapote, whose 
dense columns of smoke could be recognized at a great 
distance, and served as signals to vessels at sea. It is a 
matter of history that Havana was originally named by the 
early visitors and settlers, Carine, — "for there we careened 
our ships, and we pitched them with the natural tar which 
we found lying in abundance upon the shores of this beau- 
tiful bay."t Petroleum leaks out in numberless places, in 
this delightful island, and it is astonishing that it has thus 
far excited no particular notice, except as a natural phe- 
nomenon. M. Bousingault, in a dissertation on the bitu- 
mens of France, remarks that the only contradictory fact 
opposed to his conclusion that the geological position of 
mineral pitch is in formations referable to the super-creta- 
ceous group, is that given by Alexander Yon Humboldt, 
who, in his travels in South America, saw at Punta 
d'Acaya, on the coast of Caraccas, petroleum issuing from 
mica slate, and extending far out into the sea. To these 
exceptions might be added many more, for all the springs 
of petroleum and of mineral pitch in the West Indian Is- 
lands, and in South America, are associated with metamor- 
phic rocks, or rocks very nearly as old as mica slate. But 
it does not necessarily follow that the oil itself is of cotem- 
porary age, although it might be assumed that the unctuous 

* AUen's Manual of Mineralogy, f Early History of Cuba. 



136 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

touch of mica and felspar may proceed from contact with 
such substances. But coal is frequently found reposing 
on granite, as near Richmond, in Virginia, while anthra- 
cite is found among metamorphic rocks, as in Sweden and 
Khode Island ; yet those facts do not prove the coal to be 
of the same age as granite or of mica slate. It only proves, 
in short, that vegetation existed at an earlier epoch than 
the geologists have hitherto allowed — that such vegetation, 
or oily remains of vegetation, lodged on and in the strati- 
fied seams of primitive rocks, and that by the heat or subli- 
mation which decomposed it, the expansive force of the re- 
sultant gases injected the oil into the fissures and cracks 
of the overlying and adjacent strata. 

Compact mineral pitch, like that of Cuba, and copious 
streams of petroleum, also occur opposite the city of Mara- 
caybo, in Venezuela, and on the borders of the lake. The 
petroleum is employed here, as in Havana, for paying the 
sides and bottoms of vessels. Toward the north-east 
margin of this lake, which is two hundred and fifty miles 
in circumference, is a remarkable mine of asphaltum, the 
bituminous vapors of which are so inflammable that, during 
the night, phosphoric fires are continually seen, which, in 
their effect, resemble lightning. They are more frequent 
during times of great heat, than in cool weather, and go by 
the name of the "lanterns of Maracaybo," because they 
serve both for lighthouse and compass to the Spaniards 
and Indians, who, without the assistance of either, navigate 
the lake.^"^ 

The bitumen of Murindo, in New Grenada, is of a 
brownish black color, soft, and has an earthy fracture. It 
has an acrid taste, burns freely, with a smell of vanilla, and 
is said to contain a large quantity of benzoic acid. This 
arises, apparently, from the decomposition of trees which 
contained benzoin, f their decomposition precipitating the 

* McCalloagb's Geographical Gazeteer. f Ures' Dictionary of the Arts. 



OIL LAKE IN TEXAS. 13Y 

secretions of which the trees were composed. Coal is found 
in this state at an elevation of over six thousand six hun- 
dred feet — being about the same as that of New Mexico 
and Upper California. The coal mines are worked exten- 
sively by English and American companies. 

In Mexico, on the Salado river, near Reveilla, situated 
about one hundred and twenty-five miles above Camargo, 
bituminous coal exists in quantity, and has been worked by 
an American company. A coal formation, fifty miles in 
breadth, very likely a continuation of that of the Rio 
Salado, crosses the Rio Grande from Texas into Mexico 
at Loredo. Coal is also found in the provinces of Oajuca, 
San Louis Potosi, and Yera Cruz. In the villages of 
Sayultepec and Muloacan are fountains of petroleum, 
which discharge their contents over a wide extent of 
country. The oil called " Mexican Mustang Liniment," 
formerly used for sprains and rheumatism, is derived from 
these and similar springs. In the interior of Mexico, ac- 
cording to a writer in Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, are 
lakes of fresh water, where chapapote is found bubbling up 
to the surface. When washed upon the borders, it is 
gathered and used as a varnish and for the bottoms of 
canoes. It has a pungent smell, like that of liquid as- 
phalt, and possesses many of its qualities. 

In Texas, about one hundred miles from Houston, there 
is a small lake of petroleum that closely resembles the pitch 
lake of Trinidad. A description was given of this lake, in 
1844, in a report to the War Department. It is said to 
be filled with bitumen or asphalt, and is about a quarter 
of a mile in circumference. During the cool weather of 
winter, its surface is hard, and is capable of sustaining a 
person. From November to March it is generally cov- 
ered with water, which is acid , to the taste, from which 
cause it has been commonly called the Sour Fond. lu 
the summer months a spring occurs near the centre of the 



138 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

lake, from which an oily liquid like petroleum continually 
boils up. This liquid gradually hardens on exposure to 
the air, and forms a black, pitchy substance, similar to that 
which coats the sides of the lake. It is said to be pre- 
cisely similar to the bitumen of Trinidad, and promises to 
be of great value for the production of gas. It burns 
with a very clear bright light, but gives out a pungent 
odor. This lake, in losing its volative oils, is evidently 
hastening into the incipient stages of coal. Coal also 
abounds in various quarters of Texas — the main formation 
having been already described. 

On the falls of the Wallamette river, in Oregon, fossil 
copal or resin has been found, as also on the shores of the 
Pacific, north of the Columbia river. Beds of imperfect 
coal were also discovered by G-eneral Fremont, in his ex- 
plorations in 1844, near the cascades of the Columbia river. 
One stratum consisted of coal and forest trees, imbedded in 
strata of alluvial clay, containing the remains of vegetables, 
the leaves of which indicated that they were of the dicoty- 
ledonous order. A very significant fact is mentioned by 
Fremont, viz., that the stems of the ferns were not miner- 
alized, but merely charred, retaining still their vegetable 
structure and substance ; and in this condition, also, a por- 
tion of the trees remained. But some portions of the coal 
precisely resemble the cannel-coal of England ; and, with 
the accompanying fossils, have been referred to the tertiary 
period. The pure coal, it is plain to see, resulted from 
the resinous secretions of the trees; but as the ferns con- 
tained none, of course they were incapable of being trans- 
formed into lignite. 

Wood and brown coal, of very recent origin, has been 
found in Kansas, and was described by Lieutenant Johnson 
in 1845. It occurs on the escarpment of a bluff fifty feet 
in height, in which are various seams of wood and lignite, 
intermingled with iron pyrites, and on the surface of the 



COAL AND OIL IN OREGON. 139 

bluff alum crjstalizes in considerable quantities. Perma- 
nent springs flow from the base, and taste strongly of alum. 
Seams of wood and sandstone alternate, and the formation, 
which is described as of the postdiluvial era, has been 
traced for several miles, at an elevation of one hundred 
feet above the Red river. On the False Washita river, 
towards the Wishetaw mountains, the same gentleman 
met with a dark sandstone having a vertical dip, out of 
which, throughout its course, a great quantity of bitumen 
has flowed. A specimen of the liquid bitumen has the 
consistence and appearance of common tar. It occurs as 
a mineral oil or petroleum on the surface of a spring near 
that place. This spring is in the vicinity of granite, upon 
which the oil doubtless rests. 

In the lead-bearing magnesian limestones of Wisconsin 
are occasionally observed thin seams, or lamina, of a buff- 
colored shale, which, on being placed on a fire, burn for 
a while with a moderate flame ; after whicTi the residue 
presents a preponderance of earthy ashes. This asphaltic 
shale is calcareous, and frequently fossiliferous. It has 
been, in the absence of other fuel, economically employed 
in lime burning, as it contains inflammable matter in suf- 
ficient quantity to calcine the limestone without additional 
combustibles.* 

At the Albert mines of New Brunswick there is a bitu- 
minous substance which, for many years, has been ranked 
alternately as coal and asphalt. A lawsuit once depended 
on its being pronounced one or the other, and after hearing 
the opinions of several of the most distinguished geologists 
and mineralogists of England and the United States, it was 
finally determined by the court to be coal. It is a beau- 
tiful mineral, very black and glossy, burns freely, and 
makes an abundance of gas. A gentleman long connected 
with the mine has shown us specimens of a peculiar white 

* R. C. Taylor's Statistics of Coal. 



140 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

resinous wax, which is obtained from the coal by distilla- 
tion, and which sufficiently indicates the resinous and oily 
material of which it is composed. Oil is now obtained 
from it in large quantities, and is very extensively used, 
under the name of Portland oil, throughout the United 
States and British Provinces. The earthy shales in the 
vicinity of the mine are also impregnated with the oil — 
thus showing its former liquid condition, and its previous 
existence in the form of oil springs. 

The existence of petroleum, or rock oil, in various parts 
of the United States, was known to the Indians, and to 
many of the early explorers. Father Hennepin speaks 
of it in his missionary explorations among the Indians of 
the North-west lakes, and of the Upper Mississippi, over 
two hundred years ago. Its presence alo^^g the shores of 
Oil creek, in Yenango county, Pennsylvania, gave that 
stream the name by which it is distinguished. . In all the 
borings for salt, of which there are a great number on the 
Kiskeminitas, the Conemaugh, and other tributary streams 
of the Alleghany and Ohio, oil was the usual accompani- 
ment of the saline waters. Whenever these waters oozed 
out, along the slopes of the mountains, the oil would col- 
lect as a thin scum on the surface of the springs, and 
swamps, and morasses in the vicinity. The Indians used 
to collect it and use it as a medicine ; and it is said to 
possess peculiar healing properties. The same substance 
has long since been sold, under the name of " Rock Oil," 
and " Seneca Oil," as a quack remedy for sprains and rheu- 
matism, as also, more recently, under the appellation of 
" Mexican Mustang Liniment." The quantity of oil found 
in many of the salt borings was so great that the wells 
were abandoned as worthless — the oil giving to the crys- 
tallized salt an odor, and an unctuous feel, which destroyed 
its value in the market. There are many of these old bor- 
ings which will soon be found valuable for oil, now that the 



OIL AND SALT SPRINGS. 141 

nature of the substance is better comprehended ; while it 
is not unlikely that both oil and salt may, by a little chem- 
ical skill, be rendered available to the use and requirements 
of our domestic economy. 

At one of the old salt mines on the Kanawha river, in 
Virginia, when the borings were being made, a reservoir 
of gas was struck, the explosive force of which hurled the 
augur and the surface machinery into the air. The gas was 
finally tubed, and used for fuel to evaporate the salt ob- 
tained from adjacent borings. About the same time, if 
not in the same well, a vein of oil was struck, which issued 
up in great force, and diffused itself over the surface of the 
ground, and thence into the adjacent river. The igniiion 
of the gas extended itself to the oil, and the flames fol- 
lowed the latter to the river, setting fire to the boats along 
the shore, and illuminating and covering the river in a 
sheet of flame for many miles below. The extraordinary 
spectacle of a river on fire was thus presented, for the first 
time in the history of the world. Since the traffic in oil 
began on the Alleghany river, this spectacle has frequently 
occurred, both on that river and Oil creek. The destruc- 
tion of property which such accidents effect has at times 
been immense. The burning oil spreads over the water, 
and attacks every thing that it encounters — steamboats, 
flat-boats, rafts of lumber, and all the inflammable material 
of the shore, share the infection and the conflagration. 
The oil was formerly floated down the river en masse in 
wooden scows to Pittsburg, where it was refined and 
barrelled. An improvement on these wooden structures 
was the introduction of sheet-iron compartments, or entire 
boats of sheet-iron, which, in case of fire, are less liable to 
ignite. Nevertheless the danger is still imminent, and 
measures have latterly been taken to prevent its transpor- 
tation from the wells in open tanks, unless accompanied 
with additional safe-guards. 



142 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

As soon as the true nature and inherent qualities of coal 
oil were ascertained, in the United States, systematic 
efforts were instituted to obtain it by distillation from coal. 
Several establishments for distilling and refining it frf>m 
cannel-coal were erected, the most, prominent of which was 
from the coal of Breckenridge county, in Kentucky, and 
the coals of Coal river, and the Kanawha in Virginia. 
The oil thus obtained from coal served to furnish the dis- 
tinguishing name for all the liquids of that character now 
in the market, while the true coal oil itself has disappeared. 
So soon as it was ascertained that the oil obtained from 
coal was identical, or nearly so, with that found in a liquid 
state in saline wells, and in the natural springs abounding 
along the margin of the Alleghany coal measures, borings 
were made into the earth to obtain it. These borings, at 
first, were confined to the upper layers of the oil strata, 
and furnished only the oil which, in the course of ages, 
had been ejected by springs, and subsequently drained into 
the fissures of the overlying rocks. While the true oil- 
bearing strata occupy a position at and near those of the 
saline rocks, and generally occur from five hundred to one 
thousand feet below the surface of the ground, the oil and 
saline water, aided by the gases which are always asso- 
ciated with them, have driven them upwards, and difi"used 
them not merely over the surface of the earth, but into all 
the pores and fissures of the statified measures. In some 
instances the amount of oil thus held in the cavities of the 
overlying rocks, and in the seams and cracks of tlie alter- 
nate lamina, has been immense, and yielded extraordinary 
and unlooked-for results. Nevertheless, the deposit was 
merely superficial, and was in time exhausted. The ex- 
haustion of particular wells intimidated others from similar 
enterprises, while, in the mean time, the oil itself became so 
abundant as to overstock the market. For several years 
its value at the wells was less than one dollar per barrel, 



COAL OIL, WHISKEY, AND BRANDY. 14S 

and scarcely seemed to pay the cost of transportation. 
But the extraordinary cheapness and abundance of the 
substance stimulated inquiry into its character and quali- 
ties, and uses were soon created for it which suddenly 
enlarged the field of consumption, and greatly enhanced its 
value. The first use to which it was applied was for 
light ; but it required a long time to develop its qualities. 
The usual prejudice with which every new and untried ex- 
periment is assailed by the public, had to be overcome and 
lived down. Lamps to properly burn it had to be in- 
vented ; dangers which attended its combustion had to be 
corrected ; and every precaution taken in its preparation to 
prove its value, its safety, and its convenience. When the 
prejudice of the people was thus finally conquered, the oil 
found its way into every household in the land, and the 
demand for it rapidly increased. In the meanwhile, certain 
qualities of the oil were found to be adapted for lubricating 
machinery, either alone or by combination with other oils. 
Its cheapness, compared with mineral oils, was so great, 
that an extraordinary demand was created for this purpose 
— the railways and machinists all over the country becom- 
ing the principal consumers. At the same time, it was 
found that turpentine could bo distilled from it — that, in 
fact, the oil contained the same elements as were formerly 
distilled from the vegetable resins of the long-leaved pines 
of the Carolinas and Georgia ; and no sooner was this 
fact ascertained than it found its way into many new 
departments of art and manufactures, and became an 
article of export to France, England, and other portions 
of Europe. Its uses are now almost innumerable. Con- 
taining the bases which we extract from vegetation — be- 
cause it is itself derived from vegetation — it would be 
difficult to predict what it is not capable of being applied 
to. The writer of these pages, in a lecture which he 
delivered on the subject some five years ago, and which 
10 



Hi THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

was subsequently publisued in a pamphlet, predicted that 
it would ultimately be used as the base for alcoholic or 
spirituous liquors. "We thus find," if I may be permitted 
to quote from the pamphlet which is now before me, "we 
thus find in our coals and oils the ingredients that we 
have for ages been accustomed to look for in vegetation, 
in animals, and in fish. We can obtain from them the 
means to warm our houses, the gases to illuminate them, 
the oils and tallow to lubricate machinery, the turpentine 
and other spirits to supply the demands of the arts ; and 
no doubt we can, and will distil from them very good 
brandy, excellent camphene-gin, and old, oily, unctuous, 
Monongahela wkiskey /" It is perhaps needless to assure 
the reader that, when making this prediction nearly six 
years ago, it seemed too preposterous and absurd to give 
it the dignity of serious language. While I ventured to 
throw it out as a playful suggestion, I nevertheless had 
solid grounds to believe in its ultimate realization. A 
parallel case was in a prediction which I made, after the 
war broke out, and the supplies of pitch, resin, tar, and 
turpentine, which came formerly from certain of the South- 
ern States, were suddenly cut off by the blockade, would 
all be obtained by extracting them from our coals and 
petroleums. But, singular as the fact may appear, brandy 
is now actually distilled, and that, too, on a somewhat 
extensive scale, from the coal oils of Pennsylvania I And 
why not ? Do they not furnish the alcoholic base of 
spirituous liquors ? What, then, is to prevent their con- 
version into liquors of any desired quality ? Whiskey and 
brandy obtain oil by age — but in this case they can be 
made to obtain age by oil ! 

But perhaps a more important use reserved for coal oil 
in the future is its introduction as a fuel. The day may, 
indeed, be not far distant, when it will be economically 
used for heating houses, for driving locomotives and steam- 



COAL OIL FOR FUEL. 145 

Bhips, if not for smelting iron. And why not ? Oil con- 
stitutes the inflammable principle of coal, as well as of 
vegetation. Coal and vegetation are alike associated with 
more or less earthy matter, which is precipitated as a slag 
or ashes during combustion. The ashes contribute nothing 
to the heat which the fuel creates, but are rather an incum- 
brance. Why not, then, employ the inflammable material 
direct ? To do this with economic advantage, it would 
seem to require only a mode of combustion adapted to the 
object ; for it is plain that a fire-hearth that will burn coal 
and wood would not answer to burn coal oil or the tarry 
bitumen containing coal oil. Experiments recently made 
in United States war steamers, under direction of the 
Navy Department, have demonstrated the practicability of 
using these oils as a fuel ; but as yet there appears to be 
no economical advantage, owing to the high price of the 
article. So soon, however, as we learn how to burn it, the 
cost saved in transportation over coal, and the proba- 
ble greater convenience of using it, will ultimately intro- 
duce it into fields of usefulness not now contemplated in 
our philosophy. 

The almost universal use to which the illuminating prop- 
erties of petroleum are now applied, with the constantly 
increasing demand for lubricating running machinery, has 
suddenly awakened new interest in the subject, and led to 
the investment of capital, under the stimulus of speculation, 
to a most stupendous extent. While I write this, it is 
the all-absorbing subject of conversation. Nearly every 
man you encounter has his pockets stuffed with oil stocks, 
with leases of oil lands, or with the bonds involving the fee 
simple. All the machine shops are busy making pumps 
and boring apparatus. The railway cars are filled with 
travellers, hurrying forth and back from the land overflow- 
ing with oil and saline water. The hotels of our large 
cities and towns buzz with oil speculators, like a hive 



146 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

of busy bees. The newspapers are full of prospectuses for 
oil companies. Prominent merchants — dignified judges 
and senators — railway presidents — learned lawyers, doc- 
tors, preachers — all are anointed with it, and shine and 
glisten with it, like Moses when he returned from the 
Mount. Oil has burst forth as a great speculative flame, 
and it now rules the "court, the camp, and the field." 

And why is this ? Because we have found out that it is 
no temporary or ephemeral thing. When the first super- 
ficial borings were made, and some of the wells failed, 
although a certain few knew better, the great mass of our 
people thought the quantity was exhausted, or at least ex- 
haustible. Many believed, and still believe, that it is 
eliminated from the veins of coal — that it is secreted and 
confined to the caverns of the upper rocks in close prox- 
imity to the coal, and that permanent supplies cannot be 
looked for. 

This theory has been partially dispelled by the deeper 
borings which have been made during the last few years. 
It is now well ascertained that there are two, and perhaps 
more, distinct seams of the oil, running along the western 
slope of the Alleghany, with all the regularity of the upper 
coal veins. But in boring, the same contingencies of suc- 
cess prevail as in mining coal. The veins of oil, like those 
of coal, have their faults. They abound in rocky, and 
slaty, and aluminous barriers, which cut off and intercept 
the liquid seam. If the augur happens to pass through 
one of these, little or no oil can be obtained. If the same 
augur, however, should go down fifteen or twenty feet in 
either direction from the first well, it would avoid the fault, 
and tap the oil. This is our daily experience in mines, 
and especially in coal mines ; and this fact explains the 
reason, otherwise unaccountable, that of two wells of equal or 
nearly equal depth, one will obtain more oil than the other, 
or one will obtain oil in quantity, while the other yields 



FAULTS IN OIL VEINS. 147 

none at all. This singular fact has happened time and 
again, and is likely to happen so long as we are ignorant 
of the measures beneath. 

But the deep borings of the salt wells of the Ohio, and 
the numerous streams emptying into it, prove that the 
strata of oil extends all along the slope of the Alleghanies, 
and extend, in many -places, far beneath the overlying 
group of rocks which cover the adjacent States of New 
York, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, 
Texas, and many others. Oil exists in more or less abun- 
dance in all these States ; it only requires deeper shafts to 
obtain it. 

To establish this fact, we have now only to recur to a 
consideration of the circumstances under which it was 
formed. The reader will bear in mind that the chain of 
mountains which constitutes the Alleghany, is nearly one 
thousand miles long and more than one hundred miles wide. 
During the early Devonian era, this entire mountain system 
was submerged — it consisted of several distinct basins or 
lakes, not particularly dissimilar to those of Huron, Erie, 
or Superior. I have already described the leading charac- 
teristics of these basins or estuacies of the sea, and wish 
merely to recall my observations here, so as to enable the 
reader to understand the modus operandi of the formation 
of the beds of oil. The adjacent prairies I have pre- 
viously described as resembling the St. Clair flats — flats 
that were impenetrable with rank and luxuriant vegetation. 
The resinous secretions of the coal plants were strewn into 
the earth, and drained into these lakes, which, up to this 
time, were filled with the saline waters, and the concomi- 
tant infusoria and mollusca of the sea. The petroleum 
collected into these lakes, formed a thick tarry crust on 
the surface, and sank down to the bottom beneath an in- 
undation or overflow of sedimentary water. The over- 
flows were sudden, and the vegetable oils were buried and 



148 THE THIRD BAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

confined amid the rubbish of the forests and the sand and 
mud v/hich they held in suspension. When the waters 
drained off, another crop of vegetation furnished supplies 
for another stratum of liquid bitumen, and again it was sub- 
merged, and a strata of sand and mud and debris deposited 
over it. Now these rocks were all porous; but over 
them, after the waters became more clear, was deposited 
a thick seam of plastic clay, having in it a large content 
of kaolin, or decomposed felspar. This seam of clay Is 
from ten to forty feet thick, and is so compact that neither 
water nor oil can penetrate it. It overlies the oil ; it 
shuts it down ; it imprisons it in the earth ; it can only 
escape along the margins of the clay seam, or where it has 
been fractured or worn away. The decomposition of the 
oil by a sublimation which is always going on in the 
bowels of the earth, forces the oil and water to seek 
crevices, for escape. They are accordingly driven toward 
the central axis of the Alleghany, where they have again 
been driven into the upper measures, which have a gradual 
receding pitch from the centre. After the oil had been 
thus imprisoned, the process of accumulating alternate 
layers of sandstone, slate, and mud, and the vegetable 
material of the forests, continued for long intervals, in the 
manner previously described — but with this important dif- 
ference : as the earth and the vegetation attained a more 
reciprocal action, or equilibrium to each other, the vege- 
table material contained less liquid oil, and parted with 
more of its volatile gases while exposed to the atmosphere 
on the surface of the lake. We notice that on the pitch 
lake of Trinidad, as also on that of Texas, the oil is evapo- 
rated by long exposure, although oil springs are constantly 
emptying into these lakes. Now the veins which made 
the coal were exposed to exactly similar influence. There 
was not so much evaporation, because the atmosphere was 
not then adapted to its absorption ; but there was abun- 



COAL OIL VEGETATION. 149 

dant time to allow the mass to solidify, which was not the 
case with the previous veins of oil. TJiey were imprisoned 
suddenly, while the veins of coal were accumulated slowly. 
There was also a very material difference in the vegetation 
itself. The lirst was richer in liquid oils — the latter fur- 
nished secretions more resinous in their character, and 
better adapted to coalesce and solidify under the pressure 
of sedimentary waters. That there was a very consider- 
able variation or alternation in the character of the vegeta- 
tion is very certain, and the variation was governed then, 
as it is now, by a positive law of nature. We know that 
a law of alternation of crops exists in our forests now — 
that as pine trees disappear, a crop of oaks, or chestnuts, 
or hickories, succeeds, and vice versa. This fact has not 
escaped the experience and observation of man, and we 
have a right to assume that the law which exists now was 
in full force then. It is probable, therefore, that if a crop 
of calamites prevailed for a certain interval, a crop of 
Lepidodendria or Sigellaria succeeded, and that such crops 
varied in their relative contents of oil, as the existing pine 
trees vary in their relative richness in resinous secretions — 
the yellow pine exceeding the white pine, and the white 
pine in turn exceeding that of the spruce, or the hemlock, 
but all alike belonging to the great family of coniferous 
trees. During liie coal period several hundred of such 
trees flourislied — perhaps in all not less than four or five 
hundred distinct species. 1 mentioned before that I had 
collected some seven hundred and fifty fossil specimens of 
this vegetation, all of which arc now in the Academy of 
Natural Sciences, in Pliiludelphia, where they may be seen, 
under the regulations of that institution, by those curious 
to learn something of the paleontology of the coal measures. 
The phenomena attending the upheaval of the Alleghany 
mountains have already been discussed. It will suffice 
here to say, that when the coal and coal oil basins arose, 



1^0 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

the measures on the western slope were comparatively un- 
disturbed. They became indurated— but the content of 
oil and coal was not transformed into anthracite, as on the 
eastern slope, where the greatest amount of heat prevailed. 
The eastern slope was traversed by trap dykes and volcanic 
action, metamorphosing the rock, and heaving up ranges 
of rocks belonging to the previous Silurian era. But to 
the west, the upheaval was gentle, and was attended with 
but few instances of contortion. The coal oil measures 
were thus brought within a few hundred feet of the surface, 
with the coal measures reposing still nearer the surface, 
but with a gradual increasing dip towards the north, 
where, after forming a basin, they again arise, allowing the 
gases to escape in Western Canada, and in Western New 
York and Ohio ; and thus forming a true but extensive 
anti-clinal axis is of both coal oil and coal. 

But that there was an alternation of the resinous vegeta- 
tion, is established in the fact of the difference in the veins 
of coal oil and the coal themselves. We know that some 
veins of coal are richer in oils thj^n other veins in the same 
basins. Nor was this alternation in the vegetation uni- 
versal at any one time. The variation appears to have 
been local, as indeed it is now. We do not find all our 
forests abounding in any one particular species of tree at 
the same time. Different geograpliical sections furnish 
different shades of vegetation. And so it was during 
the coal and coal oil period — and hence the local differ- 
ences in the quality of the oils. Now, on the Kanawha, 
in Yirginia, on the Big Sandy, in Kentucky, and generally 
on the head waters of the Monongahela, we find richer and 
more fatty oils than we find on the Alleghany, the Clarion, 
or on Oil creek. And why is this ? Because the coals, 
themselves, are richer in oils, and because a species of 
vegetation flourished in these points, which secreted more 



COAL OIL VEGETATION. 151 

oils than these of Pennsylvania. But it is nevertheless 
notorious, that between the layers of fat, bituminous coals, 
which exist in those regions are other veins which are 
comparatively worthless — veins not only full of bituminous 
siiales, and iron pyrites, but extremely lean in the car- 
buretted hydrogen, which constitutes the true value of 
mineral coal. But while we have these lean veins, we 
have also others that surpass even the ordinary bituminous 
veins in richness of oils — veins that, to all intents and pur- 
poses, consist entirely of solidified coal oil or petroleum. 
Such a vein, eight feet thick, is found on the Kanawha. 
If you take a lump, and expose it to boiling water, it will 
dissolve into a scum, and precipitate the oil, of which it is 
in great part composed ; or, if you throw it on a red hot 
stove^he gas and oil will be immediately evolved. It will 
thus be perceived that there is the same difference between 
these coals and oils, in their constituent elements, that 
there is between yellow pine and white pine wood — be- 
tween white pine and chestnut or hickory. They include 
coals that are lean and barely inflammable, and coals that 
are fatty, oily, and full of the gases by which we light our 
houses. 

Conceding, then, that the difference in the qualities of 
the oil and coal proceeds from the difference in the vegeta- 
tion from which they are derived, we find a positive chem- 
ical identity in their origin. And while there is an intimate 
relation between the coals and the various resinous oils, 
they occur, as we have already shown, in nearly every 
quarter of the globe, in one form or another. They sel- 
dom are in direct proximity to anthracite, and this for 
reasons which are sufficiently manifest. The great family 
of mineral combustibles comprehends naphtha, petroleum, 
elastic bitumen, mineral caoutchouc, compact bitumen, as- 
phaltum, mineral pitch, bituminous candidum, mineral oil, 



152 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

and the Seneca oil of New York — many of which, in 
liquid form, are now obtained in enormous abundance in 
Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky, from the 
lower coal measures along the western slope of the Alle- 
ghanies. There are, at this time, perhaps not less than 
three hundred wells in operation, and more than that num- 
ber under way. If we can suppose five hundred to be 
productive during the present year, each averaging twenty 
barrels per day, (which is extremely moderate), the gross 
aggregate would be about 3,640,000 barrels per year, 
which, at twenty dollars per barrel, on the average, would 
yield $12,800,000 in money. We conceive this to be a 
really low estimate. We believe the actual result will far 
exceed it; but even if it should only approximate this 
result, it will be seen that it exceeds the entire value of 
the wheat crop of the several States mentioned — that it 
exceeds the entire coal and iron product; and that, as an 
article of export, it surpasses all our other staples com- 
bined — including cotton and tobacco. It might be worth 
while to inquire, however, how long we will be called on 
to furnish supplies for foreign nations, when we know that, 
the same oil exists in abundance in China, the East Indies, 
in Sweden, in Norway, in Russia, in South America, Cali- 
fornia, and Mexico, and in nearly all the West India 
Islands. There is a time, but how far distant every one 
may estimate for himself, when coal oil will be everywhere 
produced and consumed, as coal now is, and its value as 
an article of commercial traffic will be restricted. Any 
one may have a well of his own, as the farmers in the 
West now have coal mines for their own domestic use. 
The value, as a commercial staple, will be regulated by 
the cost of transportation and the cost of barrelling and 
refining it. 

While we have a family of solidified and liquid com- 



OIL SPRINGS OF THE ALLEGHANIES. 153 

bustibles, it is easy to pass from their varieties, by gentle 
gradations, to a corresponding assemblage of the true 
coals — as the coal-asphalt of New Brunswick, the cannel- 
coal of Kanawha and Breckenridge, the fat or oily bitu- 
tninoas coal of the Monougahela, the tar coal of North 
Carolina and Virginia, the semi-anthracite coal of Broad 
Top and Cumberland, the free-burning anthracite of Tre- 
vorton and Lyken's Yalley, the medium anthracite of 
Pottsville, the more compact anthracite of Tamaqua, and 
the hard, stony anthracite of the Lehigh. These all he- 
long to one great family of combudibles, and, of course, 
have a common vegetable origin. The anthracites may be 
regarded as the patriarchs — the venerable heads of the 
family group ; while the bituminous stand intermediate 
between them and the more immature or youthful offspring 
of the ancient forests. 

But the question now suggests itself as to the physical 
circumstances^ — local, chemical, and mechanical — under 
which these vegetable resins were converted into so many 
different mineral substances. It appears from the investi- 
gations of the celebrated Baron von Liebeg, and other 
eminent chemists, that wood, and every kind of vegetable 
matter, when buried in the earth, exposed to moisture, 
and partially or entirely excluded from the air, decom- 
poses slowly, and evolves carbonic acid gas, thus parting 
with a portion of its original oxygen. By this means, it 
becomes gradually converted into lignite or wood-coal, 
which contains a larger proportion of hydrogen than wood 
does. A continuance of decomposition changes lliis 
lignite into common or bituminous coal, chiefly by the dis- 
charge of carburetted hydrogen, or the gas by which we 
illuminate our streets and houses. According to Bischoff, 
the inflammabk gases which are' alwa5's escaping from 
mineral coal, and are so often the cause of fatal accidents 
in mines, invariably contain carbonic acid, carburetted by- 



154 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

drogen, nitrogen, and defiant gas. The disengagement of 
all these, it has been inferred, gradually transforms bitu- 
minous into coke or anthracite coal. 

The accuracy of the chemical changes here enumerated 
has never been questioned ; they are universally recog- 
nized as strictly true. It was, indeed, owing to the de- 
composition of the wood, and the fermentation or heat 
thereby produced, under circumstances of moisture and 
pressure, that the resinous properties of the coed forests 
were eliminated. Yet the authority of Liebeg and other 
distinguished chemists, is always referred to, as in the 
foregoing paragraph, to prove the conversion of the solid 
wood of trees into coal. Even Sir Charles Lyell, in his 
''Elements of Geology," leads us to such an inference. 
It strikes me that chemistry can sanction no such conclu- 
sion ; and the paragraph above, if it means any thing, 
means quite the reverse of what Mr. Lyell and his nu- 
merous professional satellites have inferred'. Liebeg says 
that the "partial decomposition of the wood, exposed to 
moisture and fermentation, converts it into wood-coal or 
lignite." Yery well. What, then, is wood-coal or lig- 
nite ? It is wood in the state of decomposition, expelling 
or precipitating its resinous and oily juices into the form 
of bitumen. It is wood undergoing combustion, or parting 
with its pyroligneous oils. Combustion is of various 
kinds and degrees. When you throw a billet of wood on 
the fire, its resinous juices, in the form of gas, are con- 
sumed, while the woody structure is converted into char- 
coal. A cdntinuance of combustion, reduces the charcoal 
to ashes, and the ashes show that the woody fibre was 
composed of earth; viz., iron, lime, silex, clay, magnesia, 
etc. Another kind of combustion is that which we see in 
the open air. It is slow, and occurs without any visible 
heat, except the insensible oxygen of the atmosphere. A 



ORIGIN OF COAL EXPLAINED. 155 

fallen tree will slowly decompose — its gases are volatilized 
and mingle with the air, while the woody fibre crumbles 
away, and mingles with the earth — its ashes or mould 
being precisely similar to the ashes of wood exposed to a 
flame. Now, combustion is always the same in its ulti- 
mate results ; when it occurs under the ground, it is by 
fermentation, and the gases, being unable to escape, form 
compounds, which compounds are coo,l ; and this coal 
increases in purity with the extinction of the woody fibre. 
In lignite, this woody fibre still exists ; but in pure coal 
it does not ; — hence the ashes of lignite contain more than 
four times the quantity of earthy material as the ashes of 
pure coal. But in consequence of its partial combustion, 
as Liebeg observes, lignite contains more hydrogen than 
the original wood. The reason is, that the juices in 
forming into solids, are first decomposed, and thus part 
with their water. The lignite mined in the immediate 
vicinity of Giessen, in Germany (the very spot from which 
the great chemist wrote his Letters) contains from forty- 
five to fifty per cent, of hydrogen as it comes from the 
bowels of the earth. The heat generated in the mine by 
the decomposition of the lignite, when exposed to the air, 
is so intense that the miners are compelled to disrobe when 
they enter their breasts. It is this decomposition (or 
combustion) that discharges the carburetted hydrogen gas 
to which the Professor alludes, and which finally termi- 
nates in the extinction of the wood — leaving behind pure 
bitumous coal, derived from the previously eliminated 
resins. 

The fermentation produced in the vegetable detritus of 
the forests was sometimes so great and intense, that it 
amounted to absolute combustion, but combustion without 
flame, as in the case of charcoal pits. This is proved 
from the abundance of mineral charcoal found in the coal 
measures. This charcoal, however, is not always charred 



156 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

wood, but not unfrequently is charred resin, or bituminous 
coke. Now, to bave produced such coke, the escape of 
illuminating gas was essential, and we can suppose that 
the atmosphere of the coal period was at times suffused 
with these gases, which, in consequence of its humidity 
and density, would precipitate them upon the earth in the 
form of smoky soot or lamp-black. The city of Pittsburg 
affords an idea how bituminous smoke can thus evolve 
lamp-black. When the atmosphere is heavy, that city is 
involved in the sulphurous fumes, dense vapors, and float- 
ing soot of its manufacturing estabUshments, and the 
houses are blackened with it, and the streets incrusted 
with it. During the coal period, the dense black smoke, 
sometimes overspreading the forests, would precipitate 
soot in the form of black carbonaceous snow, and this, 
mingling with the waters and liquid oils, would be borne 
off to the coal lakes as a black, viscous, and tarry ink. 
The entire lakes would, in time, be resolved into lakes of 
oleaginous tar ; which would finally settle down, like the 
pitch of Trinidad, into a solid and compact body. 

But, it may be remarked, the coal, after all, is derived 
from the vegetation. And so, indeed, it is. But the 
geologists would have us infer that it was derived directly 
from the wood, without the interposition of resin or bitu- 
men ; that, in fact, the wood was not decomposed, but 
only changed from one condition to another. It is against 
this empirical theory that I object, for there is no sanction 
for it in all the laws of chemistry. It is a matter of as- 
tonishment to me that the decomposition of the wood, and 
its final expulsion in carburetted hydrogen (or, rather, its 
new chemical combination, for I do not think it was ex- 
pelled, except under the circumstances already men- 
tioned), should so long have escaped observation in 
treating the chemical phenomena of the coal. For this 
reason, among several others, woody fibre cannot be de- 



ORIGIN OF COAL EXPLAINED. 151 

tected in the coal — the microscopists to the contrary not- 
withstanding. And had the fact been investigated on 
independent premises, — had Buckland, Brongniart, Bow- 
man, Lyell, Hitchcock, Rogers, or any one of the host of 
geologists who have remarked and freely speculated upon 
the absence of such trees in the solid coal, investigated for 
themselves, instead of adopting the ill-digested surmises 
of each other, there never could have been any disagree- 
ment or difficulty in reconciling all the phenomena of its 
origin and deposition. It was mainly through their mis- 
apprehension, extensively promulgated in their writings, 
that the idea of alternate elevation and depression of the 
land, of earthquakes and floods, periodical submergence 
of the forests, and their direct conversion into bituminous, 
and thence by other earthquakes, into anthracite coal, has 
been so long and so generally entertained ; and this, too, 
in the face of the fact (which they never have been able 
to explain), that, wherever trees, and limbs, or leaves 
were found in the solid coal, they were invariably con- 
verted into non-combustible earths. There is, unfortu- 
nately, too great a willingness, among the professors of 
the Natural Sciences, for one writer to tacitly adopt or 
quote or give currency to the visions of another. The 
books are full of theories which have to be changed or 
modified with every progressive step ; and these theories 
are transferred from one book to another, with occasional 
emendations and additions. One-half of the geologists 
whose names are mentioned with respect, and who receive 
credit for scientific acumen, are really but mere tinkers 
and peddlers in the small facts which the experience of 
practical miners and workers in the rocks has disclosed. 
And such, too, rank with the great men of the earth — be- 
neath whose severe and awful frown, even our Bible must 
be read with stealth, and its sacred truths believed in with 
mental reservations or overshadowing clouds of dark sus- 



158 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

picion. The world, indeed, is governed too much bj its 
so-called "great men." Popular opinion is too often 
based upon the flimsy shams of science ; professional 
reputation is too often created by the " dummies" of Bob 
Sawyers and Ben Aliens (late Nockemorfs) ! When 
plain, sober, practical men once obtain a hearing in the 
earth, it will grow wiser and better, and the number of 
empirical quacks will be diminished. 

Lignite occurs in a formation more recent than that of 
the coal measures, and, on strict geological principles, 
ought not to be considered in this place. I may remark, 
however, that it generally occurs in small and shallow 
basins — little lakes, into which were deposited the vege- 
table resins of Tertiary forests, and the solid trunks and 
branches of trees. The liquid oils penetrated the pores 
of the wood as they yielded to decomposition ; and in 
time the whole mass of vegetable material, by overlying 
pressure, settled down into a compact deposit of impure 
bitumen. The lignite has therefore some resemblance to 
coal. When relieved of its large content of water (which 
sometimes amounts to one-half its weight), seventy 
pounds evolve as much heat as fifty pounds of anthracite. 
The ashes it leaves behind vary from twelve to seventeen 
per cent., while that of pure anthracite rarely exceeds 
four per cent. These ashes are composed of quartz, clay, 
iron, lime, and mere traces of some other primary sub- 
stances. Now, the ashes of wood, consist almost entirely 
ot potash, and hence we are entitled to infer that, with the 
increase of bitumen, the wood disappears, and that, even 
in lignite, such is the preponderance of the bituminous 
principle, that very little wood, properly so-called, is left 
behind. And as showing how far the decomposition of 
the wood has proceeded, it may be observed that the 
ashes of the lignite contain exactly the same ingredients 
as the surrounding shales and slates that overlay the coal 



ORIGIN OF COAL EXPLAINED. 159 

beds. The same remark applies to all coals ; and I may 
here mention again, that the remains of the ancient coal 
forests — that is, the decomposed trunks of trees, grasses, 
and weeds — constitute the rich vegetable mould of the 
western prairies. The black soil, often from six to ten 
feet deep, which comprises the extraordinary fertility of 
those regions, is the result of the dissolution of the stu- 
pendous and wide-spread forests of the coal era. The 
indurated shales that accompany the veins of coal are 
somewhat similar ; but they have passed through different 
chemical changes, and their original character has been 
considerably modified. But wherever a fossil tree or 
branch is found, the solid trunk — the woody tissue of the 
interior — is invariably represented by such shale, while 
the outside is as uniformly surrounded by a thin coating 
of coal. These facts are curious, but they are plain and 
overwhelming : they are not isolated cases, selected to 
establish an empirical law ; but they are universal, unde- 
viating, and irresistible. When a tree decomposes in the 
forest, we see it gradually crumble into dust ; and in time, 
no one could separate it from the earth of which it forms 
a part. It was so with the coal vegetation, with this 
difference : that before entij^e decomposition ensued, pres- 
sure and fermentation occurred, the result of which was 
that the resinous juices of the tree were squeezed out, and 
while the heat converted Ihem into a thin crust of coal, it 
resolved the woody tissue into the silex, alumina, and iron 
of which it was primarily composed. It is not unusnal 
to see the limbs of trees thus changed into quartz, sand- 
stone, limestone, slate, or iron pyrites ; but no human 
being has ever seen them converted into pure coal. 

Amber is a species of hgnite ; and it is not only valu- 
able in medicine, chemistry, and the arts, but is highly 
prized as a beautiful ornament in jewelry. While it was 
yet soft, and exuding from the tree in the form of a gum, 
11 



160 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

amber formed a complete trap for the forest insects, and 
held them firmly in its sticky clasp. As the gum received 
successive additions, these insects became buried in the 
substance. The subsequent hardening and transparency 
of the mineral exhibits their fossils very beautifully, aa 
also the form of leaves and flowers collected in a similar 
manner. The stone is very valuable in some countries, 
especially in the East Indies ; but gems are by no means 
common. Nodules, varying in size from a chestnut to a 
pine-apple, are often found in the lignite ; but their degree 
of transparency and beauty is irregular. 

Lignite can only be converted into coal by separating 
the woody tissue froi:) the resinous matter that fills its 
pores. As the wootly tissue is volatilized by decomposi- 
tion, the fermentation operates upon the remaining resins, 
and converts them into bituminous coal. This process can 
only be accomplished by heat, or very slowly and partially 
by the fermentation caused by overlying pressure. But 
it may be assumed that, so long as the lignite remains 
unaffected by heat, the chemical changes will be so slow 
as never materially to affect it, since the tar and water, 
and the oils permeating the woody structure, act as a 
preservative. It is known that railway sleepers are im- 
pregnated with oil of tar, and other bituminous substances, 
to prevent their decay ; and this process is copied from 
nature in the preservation of lignite. The amount of 
resinous liquid injected into railway sleepers, by means 
of hydrostatic pumps, averages d^hout teM pounds per cubic 
foot. The sleepers thus prepared are, in many respects, 
similar to lignite ; and were the process of injection con- 
tinued as the wood itself decomposes, there would 
ultimately be nothing left in the sleepers but compact 
vegetable renin. If this resin were now exposed to slow 
heat, in an air-tight retort, the result would be bituminous 
coal. If the heat were continued, so as to char and 



ORIGIN OF GOAL EXPLAINED. IGI 

partially consume the volatile gases, the result would be 
anthracite coal. Here, then, we have the whole process 
of the chemical transformations which the different 
vegetable substances embedded in the earth undergo. 
Were the pitch lake of Trinidad, or the chapapote of 
Cuba, or the asphalt of N'ew Brunswick, subjected to slow 
heat, under the pressure of superimposed rocks, they 
would be flattened down into a thin seam ; and the im- 
prisonment of their gases (not their escape) would result 
in a combination which would be bituminous coal. In- 
creased heat would consume or decompose the inflammable 
gases, and the next result would be anthracite. The heat 
again increased, would transform the anthracite into 
unctuous plumbago — increasing the weight and compact- 
ness, in every case, in proportion to the decrease of bulk. 
Before concluding my observations on the coal forma- 
tion, I will notice a phenomenon which Prof. Rogers 
claims to have originally pointed out in explanation of the 
gradual transition of bituminous into anthracite coal. 
His remarks have been copied and tacitly indorsed by 
Lyell and others ; and while they are certainly more 
plausible than his numerous theories generally are, they 
cannot stand the test of critical examination. " It is in- 
variably found," says Mr. Rogers, "that the coal of the 
Alleghany is most bituminous toward its western termi- 
nus, where the veins are level and unbroken, and that it 
becomes progressively debituminized as we travel south- 
eastward toward the more bent and disturbed rocks. 
Thus, on the Ohio, the proportion of hydrogen, oxygen, 
and other volatile matters, ranges from forty to fifty per 
cent. Eastward of this line, on the Monongahela, it still 
approaches forty per cent, where the strata begin to ex- 
perience some gentle flexures. On entering the Alleghany 
Mountains, where the distinct anticlinal axes begin to 
show themselves, but before the dislocations are consider- 



162 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

able, the volatile matter is generally in the proportion of 
eighteen or twenty per cent. At length, when we arrive 
at some insulated coal fields, associated with the boldest 
flexures o*f the Appalachian chain, where the strata have 
been actually turned over, as at Pottsville and Summit 
Hill, we find the coal to contain only from six to twelve 
per cent of bitumen, thus becoming a genuine anthracite." 

It would thus appear that the bituminous or non-bitu- 
minous character of the coal is entirely due to the amount 
and nature of the disturbance which the inclosing 
measures have undergone. Lyell says, " the coincidence 
of these phenomena may be attributed, partly to the 
greater facility afforded for the escape of volatile matter, 
where the fracturing of the rocks had produced an in- 
definite number of cracks and crevices, and also to the 
heat of the gases and water penetrating these cracks, 
when the great movement took place which have rent and 
folded the Appalachian strata. It is well known that, at 
the present period, thermal waters and hot vapors burst 
out from the earth during earthquakes, and these would 
not fail to promote the disengagement of volatile matter 
from the carboniferous rocks." 

]N'ow, in the anthracite basin, there are from forty to 
fifty difi'erent veins of coal, varying from one to thirty feet 
in thickness, and separated from each other by rocks from 
ten to one hundred yards in thickness. The disturbance 
which permitted the gases to escape must have occurred 
simuUaneGusly throughout all the measures ; if it did not 
so occur, then the escape of the gases must have been 
irregular as to time, and a material difference in the fixed 
contents of the coal of the lower and the upper veins 
would unavoidably have ensued. But if these gases 
escaped simultaneously from all the veins of coal, where 
have we any evidence of the fact ? The lower white ash 
veins in the southern part of the Schuylkill basin are two 



ORIGIN OF COAL FXPLAINED. 163 

thousand feet below the surface ; — is it to be inferred that 
their volatile gases escaped through the pores of the rocks 
overlying them? If so, where is the evidence of the 
fact ? Do the rocks disclose any traces of such escape ? 
Again : In the Wilkesbarre region, the mammoth vein lies 
within forty feet of the surface, and often outcrops, and 
on the Lehigh summit, sixty feet of coal were long worked 
in open day. This coal was placed there by the disturb- 
ance which twisted and folded the measures ; — if there 
was any escape of gas, it would certainly have been 
greater in the coal thus exposed to the surface than in that 
two thousand feet below ; — yet there is no difference in 
the fixed elements of the coal. It is all anthracite alike, 
in all the veins, and in all the regions. But the measures 
at some places are not disturbed — not nearly so much as 
the biturr^nous measures often are ; and yet the character 
of the coal is invariably maintained. The theory of the 
escape of gas is therefore absolutely preposterous. 

The most probable explanation of the phenomenon is, 
not that the gases escaped, but that they were all retained 
and formed new chemical compounds, at the time or before 
the measures were folded. The heat that elevated the 
strata, with the concomitant friction and distortion, con- 
verted the coal into anthracite by the combustion of the 
volatile gases — not by their escape through the fissures 
and pores of the rocks. For if the coal had obtained 
access to the air, under the heat that was then metamor- 
phosing it, it would have burned into cinders wherever so 
exposed, and in no other way and at no other time could 
the hydrogen have escaped. The evidences of heat are 
found in the scattered fragments of charred coal, often 
found in the very heart of the solid coal, and somewhat 
abundantly in the adjacent slates. With the coal thus on 
fire, nothing would have checked its reduction to ashes if 
carburetted hydrogen had been expelled during the eleva- 



164 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

tion of the measures. No : the coal was anthracite before 
that time, and combustion had been maintained from the 
beginning, the result of which was the final extinction of 
volatile gases, and the solidification of their resultant soot 
or lamp-black into mineral anthracite. 

A few years ago, in England, specimens of bituminous 
coal were subjected to microscopical examinations ; the 
result of which was the supposed recognition of the vege- 
table structure of the coal. This, although contradicting 
the idea of the Lyell geologists, that the woody tissue had 
been reduced to pulp as a necessary preliminary for its 
conversion into coal, was hailed as an overwhelming de- 
monstration of its vegetable or arborescent structure. 
Having examined coal under the most powerful micro- 
scopes in America, I may here give my opinion of the 
^^alue of the test. A slice of coal has to be prepared so 
thin that it will be transparent. The slice is not thicker 
than a sheet of ordinary writing paper, and not larger than 
the superficies of a ten cent coin. It is almost impossible 
to prepare such a slice from pure bituminous or anthracite 
coal ; — hence the experiments that have been reported 
were originally made with brown coal or lignite, the woody 
structure of which nobody has ever questioned. Coarse 
and earthy bituminous coal exhibits cells similar to that 
of pine wood. These cells are filled up with resinous 
matter ; and the porous structure of the wood is maintained 
after the woody reticulation is obliterated. Earthy resin, 
therefore, has the same structure as the coal ; and its 
porosity only diminishes with the degree of compact- 
ness. The porosity of coal and resin is always after the 
original porosity of the wood — and the supposed woody 
structure is altogether due to the ifistincts of the mineral 
(if I may use such a word) to crystallize in that form. 
Sulphuret of lead and of iron always crystallize in the 
cubic system, and it may be assumed that every mineral 



ORIGIN or COAL EXll/.-NED. 165 

has its peculiar crystalline form. Crystals of acetate of 
lead, dissolved in water, upon the introduction of metallic 
zinc, will accumulate upon its surface, as a thin coating, 
and branch out in a manner exactly resembling the 
branches and foliage of a tree. The crystals thus ob- 
tained are metallic spangles of pure lead. Even native 
copper, silver, and metallic antimony often assume a 
branching and arborescent structure. In view of the 
vegetable origin of coal, no one can be surprised at its 
cellular, fibrous, reticulated, or medullar structure, under 
the microscope ; but inasmuch as the trees found in the 
coal are usually squeezed down to the thinness of paste- 
board, it would be folly to look for the original structure 
of the trees themselves I And since we know that all 
coal was soft, and a glutinous liquid, as a necessary pre- 
liminary to its chemical transformation, it is idle to main- 
tain that the arborescent structure it reveals is in reality 
that of trees. * 

* In drawing the affairs of the Third Day to a close, I may perhaps 
add a few words, for the sake of affording completeness to its principal 
phenomena, rather than from any pertinency which they may bear to the 
general subject. We have alluded to the escape of carbonic acid and 
other gases as the cause of explosions in coal mines. Such explosions are 
similar to those of powder, except that they are generally more violent 
and destructive. The atmosphere is converted into a cloud of fire, and 
every thing is dashed to atoms that falls within its grasp. The fiery tem- 
pest seizes the timbers of the mine, the rubbish, and fragments of coal, and 
dashes them against the side-rocks: — the men, if they elude the blast, 
have their ears, mouths, and nostrils filled with sand and mud, and sus- 
tain more or less bodily injury from the mere atmospheric concussion. 
They often avoid the fire by falling down on their faces, and letting the 
terriGe demon ride over them. But, unless the ventilating currents in 
the mine are very strong, the choke damp immediately ensues, which is 
even more formidable in its effects. The atmospheric air being destroyed 
by the explosion, for a time there is left nothing to breathe but poisonous 
mephitic vapor — hence death by suffocation often follows. 

This is thy work, fell Tyrant! — this the miner's common lot. 
lu danger *£ darkling den he tuila, and dies lamented not! 



166 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

To revert, in conclusion, to the antiquity of the earth, 
which was briefly considered among the phenomena of 
the First Day : No one can fail to perceive, in the alter- 
nation of so many distinct seams of coal and earthy strata, 
the utter impossibility of the creation having occurred 
simultaneously with the first effort of the Almighty voli- 
tion. It will be observed, on the contrary, that Moses, in 
assigning six distinct and separate epochs, and giving to 
each their respective features, was perfectly correct, and 
that his narrative is entirely corroborated by all the known 
laws and facts of Science, and practical experience and 
observation. The work of the great coal era occupied 

The army hath its pensioners — the sons of ocean rest 
When battle's crimson flag is furled, on bounty's downy breast — 
But who regards the mining slave, that for his country's wealth 
Resigns his sleep, his pleasures, home, freedom, and his health ? 
From the glad skies and fragrant fields he cheerfully descends. 
And eats his bread in stenchy caves, where his existence ends ! 

In England, on one occasion, out of two hundred men iu the mine 
during an explosion, one hundred and ninety-six were instantly killed. 
In France, on a Monday morning, when the miners, one after the other, 
were descending the shaft, the first fell dead in a paroxysm of asphyxia. 
The next one, attempting to aid him, came within the stratum of carbonic 
acid, and also fell dead. The third, fourth, and fifth shared the same 
fate, in the effort to extend aid; and there is no telling where it would 
have stopped, had not the sixth man turned round, and forced the others 
to return up the ladder. The number of victims to these dreadful casu- 
alties in England, some years ago, caused the government to institute 
measures for the better security of life in the coal districts; for although 
the Davy lamp, which was then introduced, enables one to penetrate the 
fiery mixture with impunity, and to point oat its presence wherever it 
exists in dangerous combination, it cannot be conveniently or economi- 
cally used for the practical purposes of mining. The lamp is surrounded 
by thin wire gauze, like the delicate net-work of a bolting-cloth, and the 
discovery that the noxious gases did not penetrate through it, so as to 
produce explosions, constitutes its great merit and beauty. In this re- 
spect, it is one of the greatest achievements of modern science on record. 
The lamp is called after its distinguished inventor, Sir Humphrey 
Davy. 



FOSSIL TREES IN COAL. 16 Y 

many successive ages — ages coextensive in duration with 
the stupendous magnitude of the vrork itself. 

The universal distribution of coal over the surface of 
the earth, in cold as well as in warm climates (but more 
particularly in cold ones !), points to the universal climate 
that must have prevailed during that era as one of the 
necessities of the growth of the vegetation. But, as 
already intimated, the climate was affected more by the 
radiated heat of the interior earth, than by the solar rays. 
This is manifest from the fact that volcanic eruptions con- 
tinued, at intervals, until the close of the Tertiary; and 
their effects are exhibited everywhere in dykes and the 
^upheaval of vast mountain chains: The Creator in- 
variably placed coal in all those situations where the cli- 
mate now demands it. Dr. Kane brought with him 
specimens obtained in the frozen regions of the Arctic 
circle, where the vegetation that at all resembles that of 
the coal period is now dwarfed and stunted The same 
species in tropical regions, however, attains a prolific de- 
velopment — thus leaving us to infer that, during the coal 
period, the climate was everywhere warm, humid, and 
similar to our vernal seasons. So thoroughly was the 
whole Paleozoic atmosphere adapted to vegetation — so 
completely and exclusively carboniferous in its qualities, 
that it was, in fact, totally unfit for the support of the 
higher sorts of animal nature, and we can find no traces 
of any other creatures in it than those belonging to the 
class of Radiata and Mollusca, the two lowest divisions 
of animal life, with a few obscure and singular creatures 
partakhig of the nature of fish and reptiles, but far beneath 
both in physical organization. 

Agreeably, therefore, to the Mosaic revelation, to geo- 
logical evidence, and to all rational, practical, and philo- 
sophical deduction, we are bound to recognize this great 
period (from the Metamorphic to the Carboniferous) as 



168 THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

the age of Vegetation — an age beginning with vegetation, 
and closing with it, and occupying, for the time being, the 
whole surface of the earth ; — and having thus fulfilled, in 
every respect, the grand purposes primarily contemplated 
in the divine scheme, a series of new and somewhat differ- 
ent phenomena were now to be developed. Moses, there- 
fore, in devoting the Third Day exclusively to vegetation, 
was essentially correct, although, for thousands of years, 
the world was ignorant of the fact that what were re- 
garded as black stones, were in reality the fossilized re- 
mains of vast primitive forests ! The discovery of this 
fact was reserved for modern Geology — a science still in 
its infancy, and wholly unknown to the earlier races of 
mankind. And the simple fact that Moses pointed it out, 
in the true order of geological position, shows conclusively 
that he was endowed with an intelligence amounting to 
absolute inspiration ! 

I will again conclude with a quotation from Milton, 
who briefly recounts the phenomena of the Third Day in 
classic measure — well worthy of the angel Raphael, who 
is supposed to be enlightening the mind of Adam in the 
p vsteries of the earth and of his own creation ; 



The earth was formed, but, in the womb as yet 
Of waters embryon immature involved, 
Appeared not : over all the face of earth 
Main ocean flowed, not idle, but with warm 
Prolific humor soft'ning all her globe 
Fermented the great mother to conceive, 
Satiate with genial moisture, when God said, 
Be gathered now, ye waters under heaven, 
Into one place, and let dry land appear. 
Immediately the mountains huge appear 
Emergent and their broad bare backs upheave 
Into the clouds, their tops ascend the sky. 
So high as heaved the tumid hills, so low 
Down sunk a hollow bottom, broad and deep, 



MILTON'S THIRD DAY. 169 

Capacious bed of waters : thither they 

Hasted with glad precipitance, uprolled 

As drops on dust conglohing from the dry ; 

Part rise in crystal wall, or ridge direct. 

For haste; such flight the great command imprest 

On the swift floods : as armies at the call 

Of trumpet (for of armies thou hast heard), 

Troop to their standard, so the wat'ry throng, 

Wave rolling after wave, where way they found : 

If steep, with torrent rapture, if through plain, 

Soft-ebbing : nor withstood them rock or hill, 

But they, or under ground, or circuit wide. 

With serpent error wand'ring, found their way. 

And on the washy ooze deep channels wore, 

Easy, ere God had bid the ground be dry. 

All but within those banks, where rivers now 

Stream, and perpetual draw their hurried train. 

The dry land Earth, and the great receptacle 

Of congregated waters he called Seas ; 

And saw that it was good, and said. Let the earth 

Put forth the verdant grass, herb yielding seed. 

And fruit tree yielding fruit after her kind ; 

Whose seed is in herself upon the earth. 

He scarce had said, when the bare earth, till then 

Desert and bare, unsightly, unadorned. 

Brought forth the tender grass, whose verdure clad 

Her universal face with pleasant green ; 

Then herbs of every leaf, that sudden flowered 

Opening their various colors, and made gay 

Her bosom smelling sweet; and these scarce blown, 

Forth flourished thick the clustering vine, forth crept 

The swelling gourd, up stood the corny reed 

Embattled in her field ; and the humble shrub. 

And bush with frizzled hair implicit : last 

Rose, as in dance, the stately trees, and spread 

Their branches hung with copious fruit, or gemmed 

Their blossoms : with high woods the hills were crowned 

With tufts the valleys and each fountain side 

With borders long the rivers ; that earth now 

Seemed like to heaven, a seat where gods might dwell, 

Or wander with delight, and love to haunt 

Her sacred shades : though God had yet not rained 

Upon the earth, and man to till the ground 



ItO THE THIRD DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

None was; but from the earth a dewy mist 
"Went up, and watered all the ground, and each 
Plant of the field ; which, ere it was in the earth, 
God made, and every herb, before it grew 
On the green stem : God saw that it was good, 
So ev'n and morn recorded the Third Day. — Milton. 



THE FOURTH DAY— ASTRO-GEOLOGICAL. 

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven 
to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for 
seasons, and for days, and years : 15 And let them be for lights in the 
firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth ; and it was so. 
16 And God made two great lights : the greater light to rule the day, and 
the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God 
set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth. 
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light 
from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19 And the evening 
and the morning were the fourth day. 

There is no portion of the Old Testament which has 
created more difficulty in the reconciliation of Revelation 
and physical Cosmogony, than the lines here quoted; and 
yet I venture to say there is no portion of the holy record 
the integrity of which is more readily susceptible of vin- 
dication. Moses addresses himself to the people of all 
climes, and nations, and tongues ; and while his language 
has all the simplicity to commend it to the meanest intel- 
lect, it has the extraordinary peculiarity of embodying the 
most wonderful scientific phenomena. While his words 
and facts are distinctly comprehended by the weak and 
lowly, they defy the closest scrutiny of the learned. He 
is plain to the plain ; but doubly fortified against the wise. 
To the one, he presents the fixed and unalterable quality 
of numerals ; to the other, he occupies the loftiest heights 
of natural philosophy, and seemingly anticipates all the 
assaults of human speculation, reason, and experience. 

We have already remarked, that during the coal period, 
the atmosphere was highly charged with carbonic acid. 

(iti) 



172 THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO-GEOLOGICAL. 

The interior heat of the earth was still felt upon the sur- 
face ; and its radiation had the effect of generating mois- 
ture and mists from the shallow shores of seas and lakes. 
The whole surface of the land may be described as some- 
what similar to the coasts of Newfoundland. The sea- 
shore for twenty, thirty, and fifty miles from the land, is 
very shallow, but precipitately falls into the basin of the 
ocean. The shallowness of the water generates mists and 
fogs, wli'cli often extend several hundred miles into the 
ocean, or over the nearest land. The steamers crossing 
the Atlantic are frequently surrounded by these fogs for 
two or three days at a time ; and, notwithstanding the 
usual precautions, the most terrible accidents and loss of 
human life in the records of nautical experience, have re- 
sulted from them. They are sometimes so dense, that the 
most brilliant light cannot be perceived at a distance of 
thirty or forty yards. 

The vapor radiated from the surface of the earth may not 
have been as dense as these fogs, but its geographical dif- 
fusion was considerably greater. By far the largest portion 
of the surface of the earth was still occupied by water, 
and land occurred, forthe most part, in vast islands or marshy 
plains and peninsulas. The atmosphere was consequently 
warm, humid, and not unlike that which encircles a volcanic 
crater previous to an eruption — it was full of carbonic acid. 
We often experience something like it immediately before 
a summer thunder shower. The air gradually becomes 
sultry, and the sky is murky and strewn with dark clouds. 
During the spring, such weather often continues several 
weeks without interruption ; and while it awakens, and 
greatly promotes the growth of vegetation, the effect on 
the animal spirits is in the highest degree depressing. 
If such weather continued for years, instead of days and 
weeks, it would render vegetation very nearly as prolific 
as that of the coal period, and perhaps materially change 



ATMOSPHERE OP THE COAL PERIOD. ]*73 

its character; but it would at the same time prove dele- 
terious to animal life, if it did not ultimately extinguish 
many air-breathing species. 

During the carboniferous era, although the light of the 
sun may have prevailed to some extent on the surface of 
the earth, and had regularly and gradually increased in 
force over the previous periods, yet it had not thoroughly 
penetrated or dispelled the zone of vapor vrhich then hung 
over it. Its light must have been subdued, mellow, 
and bronze-like. Had it shone with full brilliance and 
intensity, vegetation could not have attained so prolific a 
development — its leaves and succulent stems would have 
prematurely withered and decomposed, and the juictri of 
the forests been evaporated. But the earth was, in fact, 
a vast hot-house, surrounded by a zone of carbonic acid, 
which the feeble rays of the sun in some measure rendered 
luminous ; but which it was necessary completely to dispel, 
before the atmosphere could be made transparent. This 
was finally accomplished mainly by the prolific vege- 
tation itself, which, in absorbing the carbonic acid, and 
transferring it in fixed carbon to the bottom of the coal 
lakes, removed the principal obstruction. But after the 
deposition of the innumerable layers of coal and lime- 
stone, a general and tiniversal expansion of the "dry land" 
again occurred, and continued with force only diminished 
at particular localities, throughout the succeeding Sec- 
ondary and Tertiary formations. Thousands of volcanoes 
were at this time in active operation in South America, 
Asia, and Africa ; and they were constantly enlarging the 
base and increasing the elevation of mountains, while 
raising up new ones out of the sea or on the level plains. 
In the United States there were but few volcanic erup- 
tions, but the expansion, vibration., and upward movement 
of the crust, produced the series of great wave-like flexures 
which distinguish the Alleghany mountains. The work 



114 THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO-GEOLOGICAL. 

of elevating this vast chain or system was, in all proba- 
bility, gradual ; and the up-lifting or expansive movement 
must have commenced soon after the coal which they con- 
tain was deposited. Similar movements were begun at 
the same time, in various other quarters of tiie earth, 
where coal had been thus formed. The main Alleghany, 
or central axis, was the first to emerge ; and its rising 
necessarily produced vibrations in the soft matter of the 
crust, on either side. When a submerged log is raised, or 
while emerging from the water, a wave-like movement is 
produced on the surface on both sides, which gradually 
diminishes with the distance from the disturbing object. 
It was thus with these and other mountains ; while we 
find them lying parallel to each other, they gradually di- 
minish in altitude from the central axis, which may be 
distinguished by its uninterrupted continuity, or by its not 
being cut down by the great chasms or gaps which 
characterize all the sui)ordinate ones. As the central axis 
arose, the waters of the lakes and sea rolled away with 
violence ; but were, in a measure, again arrested by the 
emergence of the secondaries, and thus confined, for a 
time, in the intervening valleys which they helped to 
originate. Mountain after mountain thus arose, upon a 
plane gradually sloping from the central or primary axis. 
The retrogression of the sea occupied successively the 
valleys thus formed, and deposited, during its brief sojourn, 
the beds of new red sandstone and fossiliferous limestones 
which we find in them in various places, and which, of course, 
lie in unconformable order to, but not over the coal strata. 
The new red was derived from the beds of the old red 
sandstone, which, in the anthracite regions, was deposited 
by fresh water ; but its subsequent attrition in the sea, 
rendered the new red layers a marine deposit, and they 
consequently exhibit sparingly the remains of marine life. 
The mountains were finally drained by the sea, in its 



ATMOSPHERE OF THE COAL PERIOD. HS 

gradual withdrawal in a direction toward the southwestern 
terminus ; but the valleys were for a long period afterward 
occupied by great fresh-water lakes. These finally found 
vent through the gaps of the mountains, and then pursued 
the natural slope of the Alleghany plane to the present 
basin of the sea. The continuance of elevation filled these 
valleys with the water permeating the strata of the moun- 
tains, and these constitute the sources of all the rivers 
and lakes now flowing from them. And it is worthy of 
notice that, from the highest peak of the Alleghany, in a 
spot not over two square miles in area, one may drink 
from the crystal waters gushing up from springs which 
are discharged respectively into the Gulf of the St. Law- 
rence, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Chesapeake bay. The 
waters thus emerging from the Alleghany mountain, in Penn- 
sylvania, mingle with the waters of nearly every State in the 
Union, and finally with those of every nation on the earth. 

Now, while the climate of the coal and of the preceding 
periods was very nearly universal all over the land, the 
elevation of the mountains, from time to time, and the 
consequent disturbance of the waters of the sea, produced 
a very material refrigeration and diversity of atmospheric 
temperature. The currents of air and water, reciprocally 
generated by mountains and intervening valleys, as well 
as by surface drainage, soon changed it into many varieties, 
varying from the icy coldness of the frigid zone to the 
melting heat of the torrid. The atmosphere thus purified, 
was not long in revealing, in all their glory and beauty, 
those heavenly lamps, the light of which separates forever 
the day from the night, and prepared the earth for the 
still higher creative scenes that were to ensue. 

God said, '* Let there be light in the firmament of 

heaven to divide the day from the night ; and let them 

be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years." 

Although, so far as animal life was concerned, there could 

12 



176 THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO- GEOLOGICAL. 

then have been no practical use for signs, or seasons, or 
days, we have the best grounds to infer that they did not 
and could not previously have existed in their present 
form. The climate was a perpetual tropical spring — 
vegetation was bursting forth at all times, and was only 
checked by its own excessive gravity to proceed further. 
The obscurity of the sun and moon and stars rendered it 
a perpetual day, or a day combining the features of night 
and day ; and there was, consequently, no regular astro- 
nomical movement by which "signs, seasons, days, or 
years," could have been determined. It was, in short, an 
embryonic condition immediately preceding the regular 
operation of the law of gravitation, of vital force, and 
organic life ; for although we had light in the first day, as 
an element of the nebulosity of the earth, and primarily 
of all the other planets ; — yet, in this case, we require the 
lights in the firmament of heaven expressly " to rule over 
the earth," and to be "for signs and seasons." God, 
therefore, "made two great lights — the greater light to 
rule over the day, and the lesser light to rule over the 
night. He made the stars also." 

Now, it is not to be supposed (as it almost always is 
supposed) that the lights here spoken of were made for 
the first time — that is, created. The lights were now 
"made to inile over the day and night," and God had set 
them previously in the firmament to afford such light to 
the earth. The action, in some measure, is expressed in 
the present tense ; — but the true meaning is unquestion- 
ably retrospective upon the previous days The natural 
and logical inference then is, (for no one can doubt but that 
Moses fully comprehended all the phenomena upon which 
his scenes are based), that the light of the sun, moon, and 
stars had not yet penetrated through the vapors surround- 
ing the earth, and could therefore have exercised but little 
astronomical influence ; and it was to permanently estab- 



MOSES AND THE ASTRONOMERS. H*? 

lish that influence, and to rule over the earth, TiAt their 
light finally predominated. In support of this proposi- 
tion, it is sufficient to know three great facts : first, that 
in the earlier eras volcanic eruptions were constantly oc- 
curring, the hot steam and vapor of which were enormous 
and uninterrupted ; second, that upon the partial subsi- 
dence of volcanoes, a prolific vegetation was nourished, 
which never could have withstood the scorching rays of 
the sun, in addition to the radiated heat of the earth ; and 
third, that no land animals are found in any of these 
strata, and that they could, under no circumstances, have 
breathed the mephitic atmosphere that then prevailed. 

And it is a fact of no ordinary significance, as betray- 
ing the solid and enduring basis upon which the holy 
record is founded, that while Moses makes the sun and 
moon rule over the earth, the system of Hipparchus and 
Ptolemy, which prevailed in Greece and throughout the 
world for nearly fourteen centuries, and was as firmly and 
universally established as any religious dogma, made the 
earth rule over them ! It is true that different and more 
correct views had previously been entertained, not only 
by the earlier Grecian philosophers, but by the Chaldeans, 
Egyptians, and the Chinese. But Ptolemy, in the second 
century after Christ, was the first astronomer who wrote 
and promulgated a complete system ; and the theory upon 
which it was based, was in direct contradiction to that 
indicated by Moses. Regarding the earth as the centre 
of the universe, the Ptolemaists found great difficulty in 
accounting for the irregularities of the planets in their 
supposed revolutions around it. They sought to over- 
come this barrier by supposing an individual, holding a 
light, and describing a waltzing movement around a 
room; — to a spectator in the centre, the light would ap- 
pear only alternately. Thus it was ingeniously assumed 
that the centres only of the planets revolved regularly 



ITS THE FOURTH DAY— ASTRO-GEOLOGICAL. 

around the earth, while their diurnal movements produced 
the singular gyrations for which they could not otherwise 
account. These absurd theories were overthrown, early 
in the sixteenth century, by the celebrated Nicholas 
Copernicus, who again placed the sun in the centre of the 
universe, and resolved a great many complicated phe- 
nomena through the discovery of the movements of the 
earth, and how far those movements affected our observa- 
tions of other sidereal bodies. Fnder his theories and 
mathematical deductions. Astronomy assumed a precision 
which it had never known before ; and the result was, 
that it soon became invaluable for " signs, and for seasons, 
and for days and years." Although the discoveries of 
Copernicus did not directly lead to the subsequent bril- 
liant achievements of the seventeenth century, his funda- 
mental yiews served to indicate to "theoretical astronomy 
paths which could not fail to lead to sure results, and to 
the solution "of problems which of necessity demanded and 
led to a greater degree of perfection in the analytic cal- 
culus."* An opinion has prevailed that Copernicus was 
intimidated in the expression of his theories by the fear 
of priestly persecution ; but Humboldt dispels this im- 
pression, and observes " that the founder of our present 
system of the universe (for to him incontestably belong 
the most important parts of it, and the grandest features 
of the design,) was almost more distinguished, if possible, 
by the intrepidity and confidence with which he expressed 
his opinions, than for the knowledge to which they owed 
their origin." In describing, in his dedication to Pope 
Paul III., the origin of his work (a work only printed at 
his death, 1543, and which he merely saw and touched 
on his dying bed), he does not scruple to term the opinion 
generally expressed among theologians, of the immobility 

* Humboldt's Cosmos, vol. ii. p. 305. 



PTOLEMY, COPERNICUS, AND BRAHE. l^y 

and central position of the earth, " an absurd acroama," 
and to attack the stupidity of those who adhere to so 
erroneous a doctrine. " If ever," he writes, " any empty- 
headed babblers, ignorant of all mathematical science, 
should take upon themselves to pronounce judgment on 
his work through an intentional distortion of any passage 
in the Holy Scriptures, he should despise so presumptuous 
an attack." In order to show that, deeply penetrated 
with the truth of his own deductions, he had no cause to 
fear the judgment that might be passed upon him, he 
turned his prayers from a remote corner of the earth to 
the head of the Church, begging that he would " protect 
him from the assaults of calumny, since the Church itself 
would derive advantage from his investigations on the 
length of the year and the movements of the moon.''^ As- 
trology and improvements in the calendar long procured 
protection for astronomy from the secular and ecclesi- 
astical powers, as chemistry and botany were long es- 
teemed as purely subservient auxiliaries to the science of 
medicine.* 

Notwithstanding the light which the great mind of Co- 
pernicus had thrown upon the mechanism of the universe, 
most astronomers still adhered to the main features of the 
Ptolemaic theory, and persisted in regarding the earth as 
the common centre, around which all the other planets, 
including the sun, revolved. At the head of these, and 
at the head of astronomical science, stood Tycho Brahe, 
whose investiga'tions, for more than a quarter of a century, 
were munificently supported by the king of Denmark. 
Toward the close of the sixteenth century, when the 
doctrines' of Copernicus had almost been forgotten, Brahe 
received at his observatory on the Island of Huen, an en- 
thusiastic young German, named Kepler. He had pre- 

* Humboldt's Cosmos, vol ii. p. 307. 



180 THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO-GEOLOGICAIi. 

viously elaborated an ingenious but fallacious hypothesis 
on the cosmogony and morphology of worlds, which 
excited the admiration of his future instructor, as betray- 
ing the depth, elasticity, and clearness of his mind. Up 
to this time, it was not only generally thought that the 
earth was the centre of the planetary universe, but it was 
also held, contrary to the exemplifications of Copernicus, 
that their revolutions around their primaries described true 
circles and a uniform movement. Copernicus had so far 
modified this hypothesis as to suppose that the earth, in 
revolving around the sun, gradually moved outside and 
then as gradually inside of the circle which its revolution 
described. This may be familiarly illustrated thus : Place 
an orange on the top of a hoop, and another on the bottom, 
both on the outside; then place two other oranges on 
each side of the hoop, but inside of the rim. The hoop 
thus divided into four equal parts by the oranges, repre- 
sents a true circle ; but the oranges, it will be observed, 
are alternately outside and inside of the rim — consequently, 
in revolving around the hoop, they will be in the track of 
a circle, but in point of fact, they describe an ellipse. 
This was a very important and interesting invention, and, 
although founded in error, had the effect of unlocking the 
door to subsequent research. The long-continued inves- 
tigations of Tycho Brahe, on the orbit of Mars, attracted 
the attention of Kepler, and the data accumulated by the 
former, led him to the conception that the varying 
motions of that planet could be explained on no other 
hypothesis than that of its revolving around the sun in 
the form of an ellipse — the sun itself being not in the 
centre, but in one of the two foci of such ellipse. This 
proposition assumed, the irregularity of its velocity had 
yet to be determined. After an amount of labor which 
few persons are capable of appreciating, Kepler accom- 
plished the task by demonstrating that the quantity of 



THE ASTRONOMICAL KEY POUND. 181 

space between the radiating vectors of a planet, and the 
sun around which it moves, is always in proportion to its 
velocity. If a wagon-wheel were elongated or compressed 
at the sides, so as to describe an ellipse instead of a circle, 
this proposition might be illustrated thus: The hub, or 
radiating focus, would be placed on a line drawn through 
the elongated centre, about one-fourth of its diameter 
either to the right or the left of the true centre. From 
this focus or hub, we would extend the several spokes, 
(the radius vectors of the astronomers), and in proportion 
as their length increased, they would be drawn closer 
together at the tire, or circumference line. While the 
space between the short spokes would thus be wide, that 
between the long spokes would be proportionally narrow, 
and the actual quantity of space or superficial area re- 
mains the same in all. Now, it was ascertained that the 
velocity of planets, in their movements around their 
primaries, varied in exact proportion to the radius vectors 
constituting their orbitual lines. When their distance 
from the focus increased, their velocity was reduced; 
when they approached 7iear, it was accelerated. This 
law was subsequently extended by the assumption, Jlrst, 
that all the planets moved by similar laws, and were com- 
bined as one apparatus ; and second, that the differences 
in their revolving movements depended on their distance 
from the sun. Those propositions of Kepler subsequently 
formed the basis for the discovery of the law of universal 
gravitation. In the mean time, however, new light had 
been shed on astronomy by the discovery of the telescope. 
The merit of this discovery has been claimed by several 
individuals, all natives of Holland; but priority seems to 
belong to a spectacle-maker named Hans Lippershey, or 
to another spectacle-maker named Metius, both of whom, 
in the year 1608, offered to sell them to the government. 
The telescope, however, for several years after its inven- 



182 THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO-GEOLOGICAL. 

tion, was only applied to distant terrestrial objects. In 
1609, while in Venice, Galileo first heard of the instru- 
ment, and from the description given, he conjectured at 
once what were its essential features, and produced one 
for his own use at Padua. By its aid, (though it magni- 
fied but seven diameters), he was the first man on the 
earth to peer into the physical mysteries and configuration 
of the heavenly bodies. He discovered the satellites of 
Jupiter, the varied phase§ of Yenus, a multitude of stars 
in the Milky Way, invisible to the naked eye, and all the 
mountains, craters, and valleys of the Moon. The tran- 
sition from natural to telescopic vision, which charac- 
terizes the first ten years of the seventeenth century (from 
Brahe and Kepler, to Galileo) was more important to 
astronomy than the year 1492, in respect to our knowledge 
of terrestrial space — (geography). " It not only infinitely 
extended our insight into creation,'^ saj^s the learned Baron 
von Humboldt,* " but also, besides enriching the sphere 
of human ideas, raised mathematical science to a pre- 
viously unattained splendor, by the exposition of new and 
complicated problems. Thus the increased power of the 
organs of perception reacts on the world of thought, to the 
strengthening of intellectual force, and the ennoblement of 
humanity. To the telescope alone we owe the discovery, 
in less than two and a half centuries, of thirteen new 
planets, of four satellite systems (the four moons of Jupi- 
ter, eight satellites of Saturn, four, perhaps six of Uranus, 
and one of Neptune), of the sun's spots and faculae, the 
phases of Yenus, the form and height of the lunar moun- 
tains, the wintery polar zones of Mars, the belts of Jupiter 
and Saturn, the rings of the latter, the interior planetary 
comets of short periods of revolution, together with many 
other phenomena which otherwise escape the naked eye, 

* Cosmos, vol. iii, p. 70. 



DISCOVERY OF THE TELESCOPE. 183 

While our own solar system, which so long seemed limited 
to six planets and one moon, has been enriched, in the 
space of two hundred and forty years, with the discoveries 
to which Ave have alluded, our knowledge regarding suc- 
cessive strata of the region of the j&xed stars, has, unex- 
pectedly, been still more increased. Thousands of nebulae, 
stellar swarms, and double stars, have been observed. 
The changing position of the double stars which revolve 
round one common centre of gravity has proved, like the 
proper motion of all fixed stars, that forces of gravitation 
are operating in these distant regions of space, as in our 
own limited mutually-disturbed planetary spheres. Since 
Moria. and Gascoigne (not indeed till twenty -five or thirty 
years after the invention of the telescope) combined op- 
tical arrangements with measuring instruments, we have 
been enabled to obtain more accurate observations of the 
change of position of the stars. By this means we are 
enabled to calculate with the greatest precision every 
change in the position of the planetary bodies, the ellipses 
of aberration of the .fixed stars and their parallaxes, and 
to measure the relative distances of the double stars, even 
when amounting to only a few tenths of a seconds-arc. 
The astronomical knowledge of the solar system has 
gradually extended to that of a system of the universe." 
This expansion has kept pace with the increased develop- 
ment of the telescope itself, which, from the instrument 
used by Galileo, has attained a space-penetrating power, 
in that of Lord Rosse, several thousand times exceeding 
the original grasp. The Rosse' instrument has an aper- 
ture six feet in diameter, and a tube fifty-three feet in 
length. It is suspended between two towers ; and many 
nebulae and other objects, previously out of range of the 
telescope, have been resolved under its gigantic eve. 
The visual and sensuous domain of man has thus literallv 
and absolutely been extended into the heavens, and his 



184 THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO-GEOLOGICAL. 

own ideas of law, order, and harmony, derive fresh vigor 
from an understanding of those which govern all the 
worlds of space. 

The discoveries which Galileo made by means of the 
telescope necessarily placed him, for some time, at the 
head of astronomical science, which, under the laws of 
Kepler, now began at once to assume a new aspect. But 
under his telescopic observations, Galileo also adduced 
several very important philosophical laws, which still 
further accelerated the progress of our knowledge of the 
planetary universe. He laid down, as a fixed law, that 
every body receiving an impulse to move in space, would 
move forever in a perfectly straight line, provided it were 
not interrupted or disturbed by any other force. This 
law, in connection with that previously evolved by Kepler, 
viz., that all planets invariably moved in elliptic curves, 
and that their radius vectors pass over equal areas in 
equal times, led the illustrious Xewton to the investiga- 
tion of the cause of motion, and the reason why the 
planets, in their orbitual revolutions, departed from a 
straight line. Up to this point it was conceded, on the 
basis of Kepler's laws, that the sun attracted the planets 
to it, and that its attractive powers varied with the distance: 
or, as it is technically expressed, the sun attracts or de- 
flects the planets b}^ a force which decreases as the squares 
of the distance increase. The square of a number is that 
number multiplied by itself, consequently the square of 2 
is 4, that of 3 is 9, and of 4 — 16 ; if the sun, therefore, is 
twice as far off from a planet at one time as it is at another, 
its power of attraction is four times less, or vice versa. 
The quantity of matter of the sun being considerably 
greater than that of all the other planets combined, and 
being the centre of the system to which they belong, and 
from which they all primarily emanated, they have an in- 
herent and constant disposition to return home. Their 



KEPLER, GALILEO, AND NEWTON. 185 

natural movement, therefore, would be in a straight line 
toward the centre of the sun, precisely as a ball in the air 
will fall toward the centre of the earth; but before they 
reach the sun, they encounter streams of opposing force 
(if I may use the word) resulting from his own motions on 
/lis axis, into which the planets are borne, and then, like 
a cork in a whirlpool, are whirled around his circumfer- 
ence. These solar currents or zones occur at various 
distances from the sun, and may be compared (for illus- 
tration) to the successive rinds of an onion, with vast 
intermediate spaces between them. It is in these zones 
that planets revolve. Every planet describes a movement 
in such a zone, around the primary orbs ; but while their 
natural impulse is always to fall to the centre, they are 
constantly prevented and thrown off by the swift revolu- 
tion of the central and parent body. The sun, therefore, 
alternately attracts and repels the planets ; and it is this 
that not only makes them revolve around him, but also 
compels them to revolve constantly on their*own axes — 
the periodic times of such revolution increasing with their 
distance from the sun. 

The principle of universal gravitation, it is said, was 
first suggested to the mind of Newton by the observation 
of falling bodies. When he saw an apple in his orchard, 
falling to the ground, he was instructively led to reflect on 
the cause of such a phenomenon. Other eyes had wit- 
nessed the same thing, times without number. Other 
eyes observe it now, every day ; — but what of that ? Men 
have eyes, and yet cannot always see ; — have ears, but do 
not always hear. For many thousand years, people 
had eaten fruits, and observed them fall, ripe and luscious, 
into the lap of Autumn ; and yet it required many thou- 
sand years, and many millions of human beings, before 
one could be found sufficiently .god -like to fathom so 
familiar a mystery, and to place it on the broad basis of 



186 THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO- GEOLOGICAL. 

Universal Law. Newton not only demonstrated that all 
bodies, suspended in space, evince a constant tendency to 
fall to the centre of the earth; but that all the planets 
were in like manner attracted to the great luminous centre 
of the system. Wljile the amount of such attraction 
varies with the distance, and with individual planetary 
circumstances, the universality of its operation is manifest 
in all nature and to all process of reason. The sun and 
the earth both attract the moon ; but while the latter is 
compelled to revolve around the earth in consequence of 
its nearer proximity, the other is compelled to drag her 
along in her annual journeys around the sun. It is thus 
with all the other planets that have satellites or moons. 
They are, as it were, servants of the superior body, and 
perform certain functions assigned them by the sun. The 
moon of our earth, besides furnishing light during the 
night, exercises a potential influence on the tides, the 
" seasons, and for signs. " Her services are absolutely indis- 
pensable ; aftd it is not too much to infer, that "were any 
accident or casuality to occur, by which our lunar influence 
would be materially impaired or destroyed, the earth 
would again relapse into that half-chaotic aspect which 
characterized it during the earlier Silurian :and Meta- 
morphic periods. The principle of universal gravitation 
thus extends throughout all nature, and to every atom ; 
and is perhaps the parent of galvanic attraction and 
chemical affinity, since it always evinces a disposition to 
return into Unity — to become One — to nestle in the bosom 
o^God! 

" The immortal author of the Fhilosophice Naturalis 
Principia llathematica,^^ observes the no less immortal 
Alexander von Humboldt, in his introduction to the third 
volume of Cosmos; ''Newton succeeded in embracing 
the whole uranological portion of the Cosmos in the casual 
connection of its phenomena, by the assumption of one 



LAW OF UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION. 181 

all-controlling, fundamental, moving force. He first ap- 
plied physical astronomy to solve a great problem in 
mechanics, and elevated it to the rank of a mathematical 
science. The quantity of matter in every celestial body 
gives the amount of its attracting force ; a force which 
acts in an inverse ratio to the square of the distance, and 
determines the amount of the disturbances, which not 
only the planets, but all the bodies in celestial space, ex- 
ercise on each other. But the Newtonian theory of gravi- 
tation, so worthy of our admiration from its simplicity 
and generality, is not limited in its cosmical application 
to the uranological sphere, but comprises also telluric 
phenomena, in directions not yet fully investigated ; it 
affords the clew to the periodic movements in the ocean 
and the atmosphere, and solves the problems of capillarity. 
of endosmosis, and of many chemical, electro-magnetic, 
and organic processes. Newton even distinguished the 
attraction of masses, as manifested in the motion of cos- 
mical bodies and in the phenomena of the tides, from 
molecular attraction, which acts at infinitely small dis- 
tances and in the closest contact." 

" Bodies," says Newton himself, "act one upon another 
by the attraction of gravity, magnetism, and electricity ; 
and it is not improbable that there may be more attractive 
powers than these. How these attractions may be per- 
formed, I do not here consider. What I call attraction 
may be performed by impulse, or by some other means 
unknown to me. I use that word here to signify only in 
general any force by which bodies tend toward one another, 
whatsoever be the cause."* 

The seventeenth century, beginning with the telescope, 
was essentially the age of modern astrononomical, mathe- 
matjcal, and philosophical discovery. Such names as 

* Principia Phil. Nat., p. 351. 



188 THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO-GEOLOGICAL. 

Tycho Brahe, Kepler, Galileo, Bacon, Huygens, Newton, 
and Leibnitz, stand forth like marble statues, or like the 
brilliant stars of the firmament in a dark and cloudy night. 
The laws which govern the fall of bodies were understood 
for the first time. The rotundity of the earth — to believe 
which had lately been a high crime against the church 
(or rather, against the snapping, barking curs that, in all 
ages, have guarded its portals, and prevented " miserable 
sinners" from entering I) — had now been established. 
" The pressure of the atmosphere — the propagation of 
light, and its refraction and polarization were investigated. 
Mathematical physics were created, and based on a firm 
foundation. The invention of the infinitesimal calculus 
characterizes the close of the century ; and, strengthened 
by its aid, human understanding has been enabled, during 
the succeeding century and a half, successfully to venture 
on the solution of the problems presented by the pertur- 
bations of the heavenly bodies ; by the polarization and 
interference of the waves of light ; by the rS-diation of 
heat; by electro-magnetic re-entering currents; by vi- 
brating chords and surfaces ; by the capillary attraction 
of narrow tubes, and by many other natural phenomena."* 
In addition to the discoveries of astronomy, geology has 
established the antiquity of the earth, and vastly ex- 
tended our knowledge of its history and formation, and 
the cosmic al laws which govern it. 

But the introduction of the light and heat of the sun, 
for the first time and in full effulgence, not only produced 
the most important changes on the dry land, but also in 
the atmosphere and in the waters of the sea. The ocean, 
it is known, is traversed by many well-defined and pow- 
erful currents, varying in temperature, in geographical 
direction, and in volume, precisely as the great rivers and 

* Cosmos, vol. ii., p. 303. 



THE CURRENTS OP THE OCA AN. 189 

lakes which traverse the interior dry land. The Gulf 
Stream is one of the most stupendous and marvelous 
features of the globe. In its physical aspect and rela- 
tions to the terrestrial economy, Lieut. Maury has happily 
compared it to a vast steam heater, such as are now used 
for warming houses during the winter. The heating-fur- 
nace is the torrid zone ; the great boiling caldrons are 
the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean sea ; while the 
Gulf Stream itself, traveling through the waters of the 
ocean with accelerated speed, and hemmed in on both 
sides by walls of cold water, constitutes the great heat- 
conducting pipe. The heat of the torrid zone is thus 
borne off and diffused en route to the grand Banks of New- 
foundland, and thence, by the trade winds, to the opposite 
shores of Europe, and finally to the polar regions, where 
the cold waters and vapors are again returned to the 
caldron to take the plade of the out-going hot waters ; 
they are thus again heated, and then again sent through 
the conducting-pipe. Not only is the climate of the 
ocean thus diversified, so as to adapt it for the countless 
creatures that inhabit its "dark unfathomed caves," but 
the drainage of the land upon which they feed, and from 
which many of them elaborate their tiny and sculptured 
shells, is thus distributed and diffused ; at the same time 
that the vapors are caught up by the winds, borne over 
the earth, mingled with the atmosphere, and thus made to 
moderate the rigor of the climate in the torrid, the tem- 
perate, and the frigid zones, " The quantity of heat daily 
carried off by the Gulf Stream from these regions, and 
discharged over the Atlantic, is sufiicient to raise moun- 
tains of iron from zero to the melting point, and to keep 
in flow from them a molten stream of metal greater in 
volume than the waters daily discharged from the Missis- 
sippi river. Who, therefore, can calculate the benign influ- 
ence of this wonderful current upon the climate of the 



190 THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO- GEOLOGICAL. 

south ? In the pursuit of this subject, the mind is led 

from nature up to the Great Architect of nature; and 
what mind will the study of this subject not fill with profita- 
ble emotions ? Unchanged and unchanging alone, of all 
created things, the ocean is the great emblem of its ever- 
lasting Creator. 'He treadeth upon the waves of the sea,' 
is seen in the wonders of the deep. Yea, 'He calleth for its 
waters, and pouroth them out upon the face of the earth.'"* 
It was generally supposed, until Prof. Maurj proved the 
contrary, that the Gulf Stream was caused by the influx 
of waters from the Mississippi and other rivers emptying 
into the Gulf of Mexico, and backing up into the Carib- 
bean sea. The altitude thus attained, it was thought, was 
sufficient to produce the current, as a river descending an 
inclined plane ; but the true solution of the origin, as sug- 
gested by Maury, must be sought in the atmosphere — for 
the Gulf Stream, in volume, is greater than a thousand 
Mississippi rivers combined, and the supplies from suqh 
sources would be wholly inadequate. The atmosphere, 
aided by the sun, exerts a power inconceivably great ; and 
in lifting water from the earth, transporting it from one 
place to another, and letting it down again, performs the 
functions of a great steam engine. " The south seas, in 
all their vast intertropical extent, are the boiler for it, and 
the northern hemisphere is its condenser. What is the 
horse-power of the Niagara, falling a few steps, in com- 
parison with the horse-power that is required to lift up as 
high as the clouds and then let down again, all the water 
that is discharged into the sea, not only by the Mississippi 
or the Amazon, but by all the other rivers in the world." 
In speaking of the currents of the Pacific Ocean, page 167,* 
Prof. Maury remarks : " The better to appreciate the ope- 
ration of such agencies in producing currents in the sea, 

* Physical Geography of the Sea, M. F. Maury, LL.D., U. S. N. 



THE GULP STREAM. 191 

let US im-agine a district two hundred and fifty-five square 
miles in extent, to be set apart, in the midst of the Pacific 
ocean, as the scene of operations for one day. We must 
now conceive a machine capable of pumping up, in the 
twenty-four hours, all the water to the depth of one mile 
in this district. The machine must not only pump up and 
bear off this immense quantity of v,^ater, but it must dis- 
charge it again into the sea, on the same day, but at some 
other place. Now here is a force for creating currents 
that is equivalent in its results to the effects that would be 
produced by bailing up, in twenty-four hours, two hun- 
dred and fifty-five cubic miles of water from one part of 
the Pacific ocean, and emptying it out again upon another 
part. The currents that would be created by such an 
operation would overwhelm navigation and desolate the 
sea ; and, happily for the human race, the great atmos- 
pherical machine which actually does perform, every day, 
on the average, all this lifting up, transporting, and letting 
down of water upon the face of the grand ocean, does not 
confine itself to an area of two hundred and fifty-five 
square miles, but to an area three hundred thousand times 
as great ; yet, nevertheless, the same quantity of water is 
kept in motion, and the currents, in the aggregate, trans- 
port as much water to restore the equilibrium as they 
would have do were all the disturbance to take place upon 
our hypothetical area of one mile deep over the space of 
two hundred and fifty-five square miles. Now, when we 
come to recollect that evaporation is hfting up, that the 
winds are transporting, and that the clouds are letting 
down, every day, actually such a body of water, we are 
reminded that it is done by little and little at a place, and 
by hair's breadths at a time, not by parallelopipedons one 
mile thick — that the evaporation, is most rapid and the 
rains most copious, not always at the same place, but now 
here, now there." 
13 



192 THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO- GEOLOGICAL. 

But the currents of the sea, as well as the varying tem- 
perature of aqueous belts of climate, are also powerfully 
influenced by the influx of fresh water from inland lakes 
and rivers. The water thus drained into the ocean, as 
the common sewer of the dry land, is of course charged 
with every variety of mineral, vegetable, and animal mat- 
ter. These substances, being held in suspension and so- 
lution, constitute the food of the fauna and flora of the 
sea, as well as affording the material from which many of 
them build their sculptured houses, and elaborate their 
weapons of warfare. These creatures, moreover, are as 
much dependent on the laws of climate, and the arbitrary 
failure of supplies of food, as are those of terra firma. 
But after the solid substances are extracted from the 
fresh water ; after they have been absorbed by millions of 
polyps and molluscan animals, and secreted in vast coral 
reefs or beds of shells and sponges, the water becomes a 
thin lixiviate or ordinary sea-water. The thin water, by 
the law of gravitation, will be displaced by the heavier 
water, and as the latter sinks, the other is lifted up by the 
atmosphere to be returned to the land in genial dews and 
rains. By this process, not only is the solid contents, 
formerly held in suspension or solution by the water, left 
behind, but also the salt of the sea with which it afterward 
becomes united. The water raised from the ocean by the 
clouds is neither salt water nor sedimentary — it is thin 
and attenuated rain-water, and, by the process it has un- 
dergone in the ocean, is again well adapted for dissolving 
the particles of earth, and of nourishing and invigorating 
vegetation, and once more emptying its loads of food for 
the animals of the ocean ! The constant displacement of 
water in the ocean, as Prof. Maury has shown, is one of 
the primary causes which give motion to its waters ; but, 
in addition to the mere displacement, the movement is 
accelerated by the temporary changes going on in the 



CURRENTS OP THE ATMOSPHERE. 193 

density and specific gravity of the waters— 'for as the 
atmosphere abstracts only the water, and leaves the sedi- 
ment and the salt behind, it follows that the weight of the 
waters, for the time being, is increased ; while their den- 
sity would form a natural wall to inclose streams of water 
of less gravity, less density, and warmer temperature. 
Thus, reciprocal and corresponding currents are main- 
tained in the sea and in the air, the disarrangement of 
which would involve the lives of all the inhabitants of 
both elements. 

The least confusion but in one, and not all 
That system only, but the whole must fall. 

Well has Prof. Maury shown, in his admirable investi- 
gations of the physical wonders of the sea and air, that 
the "wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about 
unto the north ; it whirleth about continually, and the 
wind returneih again according to his circuits." The 
same may be said of the sea ; whose waters whirl about 
continually, but invariably return again according to their 
circuits. If, indeed, the proportions, density, and gravity 
of earth, sea, and air were not fixed upon a basis of recip- 
rocal and harmonious action, why should we be told that 
the Creator " measured the waters in the hollow of his 
hand, and comprehended the dust in a measure, and 
weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a 
balance." 

Now, in taking a retrospective glance at the Third 
Day, during which the coal was produced as its most 
prominent feature, who would venture to assert that the 
complicated and nicely-adjusted laws of aqueous and 
atmospheric currents, here indicated, were then in full 
force ? If, indeed, they were in force during the Third 
Day, why not also in the Second, or even the First, when 



194 THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO-GEOLOGICAL. 

all was comparative unshaped nebulosity or chaos ? On 
the Second Day, there was no land exposed whatever. 
All was yet under the sea. On the Third Day, the land 
had indeed emerged, but it was yet miry and swampy. 
There were no mountains, and consequently there could 
have been no such rivers as the Mississippi, the St. Law- 
rence, the Amazon, or the Nile. There were rivers and 
broad lakes ; but they were rather arms of the sea than 
great inland streams two or three thousand miles in 
length. There were rivers and lakes — but they were 
rather ponds resulting from the drainage of the marshes 
and swamps of the land, than rivers deriving their sup- 
plies from the fountains in the bowels and snow-capped 
peaks of lofty mountains. There were rivers, I repeat ; — 
but they were rivers left behind to carve out their passage 
to the sea as the land itself arose ; they were not rivers 
dependent on rain-clouds and subterraneous caverns for 
their supplies. The exposed land then did not comprise 
one-twentieth part of the land now elevated above the 
ocean. 

But that no such system of air and ocean currents pre- 
vailed during the Third Day, is overwhelmingly manifest 
in the fact that a climate prevailed which was almost uni- 
form all over the face of the earth. The coal basins then 
produced are now found in every portion of the globe, in 
the hottest as well as in the coldest and most temperate 
zones. Coal exists everywhere, in irregular patches ; and 
how could it have been thus diffused if the climate had 
been diversified by currents of air and ocean, as we now 
find it ? The plants which produced the coal required 
heat — where could they now find it in the frigid zone ? 
Would the Stigmaria, the Calamite, the Sigillaria, Lepi- 
dodendria, and the arborescent Fern grow in unsurpassed 
luxuriance on the icy slopes or the towering glaciers of 



CLIMATE OF THE THIRD DAY CHANGED. 195 

the North pole ? Are these cold and inhospitable regions 
the habitats of vegetation ? Yet, coal is found there ! 

If, then, the climate were nearly uniform during the 
coal period, it follows that no such currents of air and 
ocean as give equilibrium to our present terrestrial econ- 
omy could then have existed ; and as it is indisputable 
that these currents originate and perform their functions 
through the instrumentality of the nun, we are bound to 
conclude that, up to that time, the sun had not yet cast 
his rays upon the earth in the manner that he now does ; 
but that the atmosphere itself was humid and vapory, and 
that it only attained its transparency and diversity of 
temperature after the sun had dispelled the mists of the 
marshy plains, and set in motion the currents of the sea 
and air. And, in the absence of the sun, how could a 
system of storms and rains, and of land drainage and 
ocean currents, be maintained ? And where was the ne- 
cessity for it, when the land, expelling heat itself, was 
constantly giving rise to fogs, which fed the vegetation 
with moisture ? There was no rain, because there was 
yet no necessity for it ; — there was no direct action of the 
sun, because the radiated heat of the earth sufficed. Thus 
vegetation grew, as under the stimulus of a prolonged 
spring; until finally, toward the close of the Third Day, 
the Devonian mountains arose — the vapors were dispelled 
— fresh or sedimentary waters poured into the ocean — 
continental rivers began to flow, and, as a consequence, 
the sun illumined the atmosphere, and the present phe- 
nomena were set in motion ! This movement was aided 
by volcanic action occurring during the day we are now 
considering. The whole aspect and qualities of the pre- 
vious era were changed — the climate was at once refrige- 
rated by the elevation of the mountains containing the 
coal, such as the Alleghanies ; and it was then, for the 
first time, that the rays of the sun pierced the murky 



196 THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO-GEOLOGICAL. 

atmosphere, and awakened new life in the sea, air, and 
land ! 

That Moses, in introducing the sun, moon, and stars 
on the Fourth Day, contemplated a radical change of the 
climate, so as to inaugurate the scenes that were to follow 
in the subsequent days, is apparent from the fact that, in 
the Fifth Day, immediately succeeding, he orders the seas 
to bring forth abundantly the moving creatures that have 
life, including whales, and birds that might fly in the air. 
The atmosphere and circumstances of the earth, during 
the Third Day, were wholly unfavorable to the existence 
of winged animals, or to air-breathers of any kind ; while, 
in the absence of belts of climate in the sea, it was utterly 
impossible for animals such as now fill its waters to exist 
to any considerable extent. The few specimens of animals 
afforded by the Silurian and Devonian rocks sufficiently 
indicate the fact that no great currents traversed the seas 
of those epochs, and that, to produce them abundantly 
and in diversified species and genera, it was absolutely 
requisite to create currents of hot and cold water, shallow 
and deep basins, and drainage of animal, vegetable, and 
mineral debris from the land. The climate, therefore, had 
to be changed; and this change was originated by the 
elevation of the coal basins, and the immediate appear- 
ance of the sun's beams. 

There are few persons on the earth that may be said to 
be wholly insensible to its beauties, or the familiar work- 
ing of its physical laws, as exemplified in everyday life. 
Poets are filled with emotion on beholding a rocky preci- 
pice or a frowning mountain pass ; they dwell with ecstasy 
over a landscape, and point out secret beauties in every 
tree, shrub, or flower ; they apostrophize teeming valleys, 
with their sloping banks of green verdure, and their 
streams glistening through vistas of bending foliage like 
Bheets of burnished silver. Travelers write books descrip- 



WONDERS OF AIR AND SEA. 19 1 

live of their joui'Deyings, in which the familiar and char- 
acteristic scenery of the earth is depicted in every possible 
style and form. The varied zones of climate and physical 
configuration, aided by the operations of man, constantly 
open to view new scenes, and present the earth in new 
aspects. The subject, therefore, is sufficiently compre- 
hensive and exhaustless ; — yet, while so much has been 
written and painted of the earth, is it not singular that so 
little has been said, and that, consequently, so little is 
known, of the sea and air ? Look down into the depths 
of the ocean ; — look at its wondrous caverns, its huge 
mountains, its high rocky steeples, its vast plateaux of 
coral reefs, its forests of coral trees, pendant with silicious 
and calcareous jewels ! Behold its swarms of animals — 
its minute polyps and its enormous whales ! Observe its 
rivers and currents, moving in every direction, but in un- 
disturbed harmony with each other ! Observe the shades of 
human character impressed upon its fishes, its crustaceous, 
and its sauroid creatures; — see how they are armed for 
battle — how the weak elude the strong — how the strong 
prey upon the weak I Observe their social habits, their 
domestic instincts, their mechanical pursuits ! Then con- 
sider the magnitude and mechanism of the ocean itself I 
The mind becomes bewildered and overpowered with a 
contemplation of the vast field. It is, as it were, looking 
down upon a neiu world — that which we inhabit, were it 
exposed to our view for the first time, could hardly excite 
emotions more profound or reverential. We turn tongue- 
tied from the view, to silently adore ! 

It has been computed that the salts of the sea, were 
they precipitated, and spread over the northern half of our 
continent, would make a stratum one mile thick! "What 
force," asks Lieut. Maury, " could move such a mass of 
matter on the dry land ? Yet the machinery of the ocean, 
of which it forms a part, is so wisely, marvelously, and 



19^ THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO- GEOLOGICAL. 

wonderfully compensated, that the most gentle breeze that 
plays on its bosom, the tiniest insect that secretes solid 
matter for its sea-shell, is capable of putting it instantly 
in motion I" Yet the contrivances of man, with all the 
steam-engines of the earth, could hardly move a stratum 
a foot thick, if exposed on a heap, during a thousand 
years ! 

Nor is the atmosphere less interesting, though still less 
of it is popularly known. It has a system of interior, 
local, and general currents precisely similar to that of the 
sea. It is at once the source and protection of life — with- 
out it, no organized beings could exist. We cannot see, 
though we constantly /eeZ its presence. It presses on us 
with a load of fifteen pounds on every square inch of 
surface of our bodies, or from seventy to one hundred tons 
in all, — yet we cannot realize a sense of its weight. 
" Softer than the softest down — more impalpable than the 
finest gossamer — it leaves the cobweb undisturbed, and 
scarcely stirs the lightest flower that feeds on the dew it 
supplies ; yet it bears the fleets of nations on its wings 
around the world, and crushes the most refractory sub- 
stances with its weight. It is sufficient, when in motion, 
to level the most stately forests and stable buildings with 
the earth — to raise the waters of the ocean into ridges 
like mountains, and dash the strongest ships to pieces like 
toys. It warms and cools by turns the earth and the 
living creatures that inhabit it. It draws up vapors from 
the sea and land, and again throws them down in rain or 
dew. It bends the rays of the sun from their paths, to 
give us the twilight of evening and of dawn ; it disperses 
and refracts their various tints, to beautify the approach 
and the retreat of the orb of day. But for it, sunshine 
would burst on us and fail us at once, and at once remove 
us from midnight darkness to the blaze of the noon. " 

While so little is known of the wonders of the air and 



SCIENCE OF THE BIBLE. 199 

sea, it is a matter of astonisliment to find that, whenever 
the Bible has occasion to allude to either element, it does 
so loith a perfect knowledge of all their laws and charac- 
tfristics. Things that our wise men have been for ages 
attempting to solve, are here frequently alluded to as facts 
understood, and hence the unceasing laudation of all God's 
works in the holy volume. "But where shall wisdom be 
found," exclaims the perfect man of Uz, " and where is 
the place of understanding? The depth saith. It is not 
in me ; and the sea saith. It is not with me. It cannot 
be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the 
price thereof. No mention shall be made of coral or of 
pearls, for the price of wisdom is above rubies. Whence, 
then, Cometh wisdom ? Destruction and Death say, We 
have heard the fame thereof with our ears. God under- 
standeth the way "thereof, and he knoweth the place 
thereof; for he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth 
under the whole heaven, to make the iveight of the winds ; 
and he weigheth the waters by a measure. When he made 
a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the 
thunder ; then did he see it, and declare it ; he prepared 
it, yea, and searched it out." 

" When the pump-maker came to ask Galileo to explain 
how it was that his pump would not lift water higher than 
thirty-two feet, the philosopher thought, but was afraid 
to say, it was owing to the ^weight of the winds;' and 
although the fact that the air has weight is here distinctly 
announced, philosophers never recognized the fact until 
within, comparatively, a recent period, and then it was 
proclaimed as a great discovery /"* 

It has required more than five thousand years of hard 
study and patient investigation of the wisest men of 
different nations and periods, to elaborate the great truths 

• Lieut. Maury — Physical Geography of the Sea. 



200 THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO-GEOLOGICAL. 

of jN'ature which we have thus glanced at ; and yet every 
one of them is plainly anticipated in the prophetic vision 
of Moses. Geology was then utterly unknown as a 
science ; was utterly unknown even to the philosophic 
Greeks; was utterly unknown until man became a practi- 
cal miner, and learned (by a simple contrivance) to raise 
water out of the pits he made in the earth, as he penetrated 
into its bowels. Astronomy had not been arranged even 
into an imperfect system until the time of Ptolemy. The 
fragmentary conjectures of previous ages had no solid 
basis for support ; while the premises of Ptolemy having 
been founded in absolute error, of course all his conclu- 
sions were necessarily fallacious. And yet we see Moses, 
in the earliest epoch of 'inankind, without geological ex- 
perience or telescopic aid, unfolding the whole scheme 
and process of creation, from stage to stage. His descrip- 
tion stands the test of time. All the schemes of the wise 
men of old, fade away like the fantastic visions of a dream; 
but Moses looms up unchanged and unchangeable ; and 
every new discovery only adds lustre to the brightness and 
beauty of his narrative. Every thought embodies a 
philosophical laio — ever}'^ word carries with it a volume of 
signiJBcant meaning, the key to which is found in the 
rocks, and the elements, and the creatures constituting the 
earth itself. In vain has reasoning man set up his subtle 
barriers against it — in vain all his dark innuendos, his 
pseudo-logic, and his nicely-wrought theories ! If they 
do not lead him back subdued and repentant and wiser 
to the fountain of all truth, they sink into the earth with 
his forgotten bones ; while the holy record, deriving new 
strength with every new discovery, and every progressive 
step in intelligence, still goes on " conquering and to 
conquer." ''Beware," says the eloquent Paul to the 
Colossians, "Beware lest any man spoil you through 
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, 



THE BIBLE AND NATURAL SCIENCE. 201 

after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. " In 
the 6th chapter of his second letter to Timothy, he exclaims : 
" Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, 
avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of 
science, falsely so called — which some professing, have 
erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee." Again, 
in his second epistle to his brethren at Corinth, he ex- 
claims with an eloquence which nothing less than the 
spirit of heaven could inspire : " Howbeit we speak wisdom 
among them that are perfect ; yet not the wisdom of this 
world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to 
nought : But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, 
even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the 
world unto our glory ; which none of the princes of this 
world knew : for had they known it, they would not have 
crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, eye 
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into 
the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for 
them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto 
us by his Spirit ; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, 
the deep things of God ! For what man knoweth the 
things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him ? 
Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the 
spirit of God! Now, we have received, not the spirit of 
the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might 
know the things that are freely given to us of God ; and 
which things also we speak, not in the words which man's 
wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth : 
comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natu- 
ral man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for 
they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he know them, 
because they are spiritually discerned." 

While the Bible was not written to promulgate a sj^stem 
of science, it is, in fact, the only book ever written that 
can stand the tests of scientific truths. The Yeda, the 



202 THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO-GEOLOGICAL. 

Shaster, and the Koran, can stand no such tests, but tEe 
Bible can ; and even where it seems most beset with 
difficulty and mystery, those passages, by modern investi- 
gation, shine with brilliant light. " If, indeed," says Dr. 
Gumming, in an address before the London Bible Society, 
"if the Bible had been written by mere human hands, they 
might have indicated, here and there, something like a 
system of science. It speaks of flowers and trees, from 
the hyssop on the wall, to the cedar of Lebanon ; but 
there is not a hint of a system of botany. It speaks of 
stars, and sun, and moon ; but not a hint of a system of 
astronomy." And so, too, it may be added, it speaks of 
nearly every animal on the earth ; but not a hint of a 
system of zoology. The investigator of Natural History 
is thus unimpeded in his work ; but when the Bible does 
make a statement of fact, which involves the truths of 
science, it invariably turns out that the Bible is correct, 
and that the science was false. There are many examples 
of this, some of which have already been adverted to, 
while others remain to be noticed hereafter. Job, for ex- 
ample, speaks of himself as standing on the circle of the 
earth ; while Isaiah speaks of the circle of the sea. It is a 
singular fact that the rotundity of the earth had not been 
established until the time of Newton ; and that, in conse- 
quence of his inability to understand, or rather to measure 
its true form, he was unable to promulgate his discovery 
of the law of universal gravitation, which was withheld 
seven years longer from the world in consequence of his 
inability to satisfactorily demonstrate it, owing to this 
very cause. Even the Church of Rome, notwithstanding 
these expressions of the Bible, had long made it heresy 
for any one to believe "that the surface of the earth was 
other than a flat plain, or that the stars were not really 
riveted to the ethereal vault — hence the origin of the term 
''fixed stars." "Hast thou an arm like God, or canst 



SCIENCE or THE BIBLE. ^03 

thou thunder with a voice like him ? Gird up thy loins 
and declare ! Canst thou bind the sweet influences of 
the Pleiades, or loosen the bands of Orion ? Canst thou 
bring forth Maggaroth in his season, or bind Arcturus 
with his stars ?" These words of Job were long a mystery. 
What are the sweet influences of the Pleiades ? Astro- 
nomy tells us that the stars, the sun, the moon, and 
the earth, with their leading satellites, constitute one 
group which revolves round another central sun, and thai 
central sun is but one of the mysterious Pleiades. The 
Bible thus indicates what astronomers, with the aid of the 
telescope, have only lately realized — that there are other 
systems of worlds planted in space, besides our own, and 
that these revolve around central suns still greater and 
grander than our own. Nothing short of an inspired 
conception of the Almighty Creator and his works, could 
have enabled the promulgators of his divine word to deal 
in cosmical truths like these — truths so far beyond the 
ordinary range of the human understanding. 

The profound and erudite Alexander von Humboldt, in 
describing the literature of the Hebrews, and especially 
their poetry and descriptions of Nature, remarks of the 
104th Psalm, that it almost represents, of itself, "the image 
of the whole cosmos.''^ " Who co^erest thyself with light 
as with a garment : who stretch est out the heavens like a 
curtain : who layeth the beams of his chambers in the 
waters : who maketh the clouds his chariot : who walketh 
upon the wings of the wind : who laid the foundations of 
the earth, that it should not be removed forever ! He 
sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the 
hills. They give drink to every beast of the field : the 
wild asses quench their thirst. By them shall the fowls 
of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the 
branches. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and 
herb for the service of man : that he may bring forth fruit 



204 THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO-GEOLOGICAL. 

out of the earth : and wine that maketh glad the heart of 
man, and oil to make his face shine, and bread which 
strengthen eth man's heart. The trees of the Lord are full 
of sap ; the cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted ; 
where the birds make their nests : as for the stork, the fir 
trees are her houses." " The great and wide sea" is then 
described, " wherein are things creeping innumerable, both 
small and great beasts. There go the ships : there is that 
leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein." "The 
picture of the heavenly bodies," says Humboldt, "renders 
this picture complete. 'He appointed the moon for sea- 
sons : the sun knoweth his going down. Thou makest 
darkness, and it is night ; wherein all the beasts of the 
forests do creep forth. The youug lions roar after their 
prey, and seek their meat from God. The sun ariseth, 
they gather themselves together, and lay them down in 
their dens. Man goeth forth unto his work, and to his 
labor unto the evening.'" 

" We are astonished to find," says the venerable Hum- 
boldt, " in a lyrical poem of such a limited compass, the 
whole unwerse — the heavens and the earth — sketched in a 
few hold touches! The calm and toilsome labor of man, 
from the rising of the sun to the setting of the same, 
when his daily work is done, is here contrasted with the 
moving life of the elements of nature. In the 3Tth chap- 
ter of Job, the meteorological processes which take place 
in the atmosphere, the formation and solution of vapor, 
according to the changing direction of the wind, the play 
of its colors, the generation of hail and of the rolling 
thunder, are described with individualizing accuracy; and 
many questions are propounded which we, in the present 
state of our physical knowledge, may indeed be able to 
express under more scientific definitions, but scarcely to 
answer satisfactorily. " " The book of Job," observes Hum- 
boldt, "is alike picturesque in the delineation of individual 



SCIENCE OF THE BIBLE. 205 

phenomena, and artistically skillful in didactic arrangement 
of the whole work." " The Lord walketh on the heights 
of the waters, on the ridges of the waves towering high 
beneath the force of the wind." The morning red has 
colored the margins of the earth, and variously formed the 
covering of the clouds, as the hand, of man moulds the 
yielding clay. The habits of animals are described, as 
those of the wild ass, the horse, the buffalo, the rhinoceros, 
the crocodile, the eagle, and the ostrich. We see " the 
pure ether spread, during the scorching heat of the south 
wind, as a melted mirror over the parched desert." " Who 
shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it 
had issued out of the womb ? When I made the cloud 
the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling band 
for it; and brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars 
and doors, and said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no 
further: a,nd here shall thy proud waves be stayed !" It 
would not be difficult to construe, in these words, the phe- 
nomena of the origin of the world on the basis of the 
nebular hypothesis. Again, in the tith Psalm, " The waters 
saw thee, God, the waters saw thee : they were afraid : 
the depths also were troubled. The clouds poured out 
water : the skies sent out a sound : thine arrows also 
went abroad. The voice of thy thunder was in the 
heavens ; the lightnings lightened the world : the earth 
trembled and shook. Thy way is in the sea, and thy path 
in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. 
Thou didst divide the sea in thy strength : thou didst 
cleave the fountain and the flood : thou didst dry up mighty 
rivers. The day is thine, the night also is thine : thou 
hast prepared the light and the sun," etc., etc. 

I might multiply quotations, ad infinitum, for nearly the 
entire book of Job, whicJi is of equal if not greater anti- 
quity than that of Moses, together with a large portion 
of the Psalms, are each full of instructive and impi'essive 



206 THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO-GEOLOGICAL. 

meaning in relation to the physical phenomena of the 
earth. No one can read these beautiful portions of the 
Bible without being impressed with the accuracy of their 
descriptions, and the spirit of fervid sublimity which dis- 
tinguishes them as poems. 

In concluding my observations on this day, it is, per- 
haps, hardly necessary to remind the reader that, inasmuch 
as the light of the sun had only been introduced for the 
first time, during the fourth day, and was especially in- 
tended to mark the days and seasons, as well as to rule 
over them — no days, properly so understood, could have 
existed, or been contemplated by Moses, in the previous 
epochs. This proposition is so self-evident, that no candid 
mind can, for a moment, question it. Although Moses is 
constantly speaking of days, it is clear that he always 
contemplates lengthened periods of time, as we have 
already surmised in the earlier pages of this volume ; for 
nothing is more certain than that the days of the coal and 
metamorphic periods (if they could exist at all as a di- 
urnal measure of time) were wholly dissimilar to those 
which occurred afterward, and which occur now. This 
conclusion is made perfectly overwhelming in the second 
chapter of Genesis, where Moses observes (in allusion to 
this period) that " the Lord Grod had not caused it to rain 
upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground ; 
but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the 
whole face of the ground." Is not this wonderful ? Does 
it not confirm, in the most remarkable manner, the peculiar 
phenomena of the coal period — but above all, its singular 
climate ? If such were its general aspects, we at once 
perceive the propriety of speciall}^ introducing the light 
of the sun on the fourth day. It is spoken of before, 
among the phenomena of the first day, and therefore 
already existed ; but its light was now required to ride 
over the days and seasons ; and this was fully accomplished 



Milton's fourth play. 207 

after the absorption of the carbonic acid and the elevation 
of the mountains. The atmosphere soon became more 
diversified, as well as beautifully clear and transparent, so 
that, on the following day, or era, the birds were enabled 
to spread their pinions in the "open firmament of heaven." 
The earth was thus again prepared for the still nobler, 
and grander scenes that were to follow : 

Again the Almighty spake : Let there be lights 
High in the expanse of heaven to divide 
The day from nigl^; and let them be for signs, 
For seasons, and for days, and circling years ; 
And let them be for lights, as I ordain 
Their office in the firmament of heaven 
To give light on the earth ; and it was so. 
And God made two great lights, great for their use 
To man, the greater to have rule by da,j, 
The less by night, altern : and made the stars, 
And set them in the firmament of heaven, 
To illuminate the earth, and rule the day 
In their vicissitude, and rule the night. 
And light from darkness to divide. God saw. 
Surveying his great work, that it was good : 
For of celestial bodies first the sun, 
A mighty sphere, he framed, unlightsome first. 
Though of ethereal mould : then formed the moon 
Globose, and every magnitude of stars. 
And sowed with stars the heaven thick as a field. 
Of light by far the greater part he took, 
Transplanted from her cloudy shrine, and placed 
In the sun's orb, made porous to receive 
And drink the liquid light, firm to retain 
Her gathered beams, great palace now of light. 
Hither, as to a fountain, other stars 
E,epairing, in their golden urns draw light. 
And hence the morning planet gilds her horns. 
By tincture or reflection they augment 
Their small peculiar, though from human sight 
So far remote, with diminution seen. 
First in his east the glorious lamp was seen, 
Regent of day, and all the horizon round 
Invested with bright rays, jocund to run 
14 



THE FOURTH DAY — ASTRO- GEOLOGICAL. 

His longitude through heaven's high road : the gray 

Dawn and the Pleiades before him danced, 

Shedding sweet influence. Less bright the moon, 

But opposite in leveled west was set 

His mirror, with full face borrowing her light 

From him, for other light she needed none 

In that aspect : and still that distance keeps 

Till night, then in the east her turn she shines, 

Revolved on heaven's great axle, and her reign' 

With thousand lesser lights dividual holds. 

With thousand thousand stars, that then appeared 

Spangling the hemisphere: then first adorned 

With their bright luminaries, that set and rose. 

Glad evening and glad morn crowned the Fourth Day.— Milton. 



THE FIFTH DAY— GEOLOGICAL. 

20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving 
creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open 
firmament of heaven. 21 And God created great whales, and every liv- 
ing creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, 
after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind ; and God saw that 
it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying. Be fruitful, and multiply, 
and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 
23 And the evening and the morning were the Fifth Day. 

Zoologists classify animal species into four grand divi- 
sions, named respectively the Badiaia, the Mollusca, the 
Articulata, and the Vertehrata. The first division (Badi- 
aia) is divided into five subordinate groups, consisting 
of Spongiaria, Polypifera, Infusoria^ Foramenifera, and 
Echinodermata. These are the lowest and most minute 
species of animals in existence, and they are frequently 
only perceptible by means of the microscope. They exist 
in lakes and seas limited to a certain depth, beyond which 
the pressure of the water is perhaps too great for their 
delicate anatomy. The difference between some of them 
and vegetable structure is so slight as to render it difficult 
to establish a line of demarkation. The second division 
{Mollusca) comprises a soft and pulpy animal, most gen- 
erally covered by a calcareous shell. This division in- 
cludes a great variety of subordinate species, among which 
may be mentioned the Brachiopoda, the ConcMfera, the 
Gasteropoda, the Cephalopoda, and the Tentaculifera. 
These are numerously represented in the Silurian strata 

(209) 



210 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

by' the beautiful fossil shells of the Ammonite, the Nautilus^ 
etc. The third division (Articulata) comprehends six 
subordinate groups, the leading peculiarities of which, as 
a whole, are their jointed and ring-like structure. Of the 
subordinate types, the Annelida are worms; the Cir- 
rhipoda a shell-worm, generally found adhering to the 
shells of other animals ; the Crustacea are represented in 
part by the crabs and lobsters of our seas, though they 
also comprehend many other types essentially different in 
structure, among which may be mentioned the sculptured 
shells of the Trilobites, the fossils of which are often 
coiled like serpents ; while the Arachnida include spiders, 
scorpions, and the several varieties of insects, butterflies, 
bees, grasshoppers, and beetles. The fourth and last 
great division ( Vertebraia) includes all animals that have 
internal, articulated skeletons, and is divided into four 
leading groups — Fishes, Birds, Reptiles, and Mam- 
mifera. 

Nearly all those comprised in the three divisions first 
named, flourished during the Paleozoic and the Secondary 
eras, and, with some changes or alternations of genera 
and species, many of them reappeared in the subsequent 
Tertiary and modern formations. Of the Yertebrata, the 
only animals that did not appear before the Tertiary, were 
those of the Mammifera, though these were represented 
in the seas by the class of Cetacea, comprising whales, 
dolphins, and seals. Inasmuch as all these animals have 
contributed largely to the changes wrought upon the 
earth, a brief description of them is essential ; but this 
must necessarily be general rather than particular, and 
comprehend classes instead of individuals and species. 
Most of those belonging to the first division being micro- 
scopic animals, little or nothing is known of them except 
through the labors of original investigators. All we know 
of them, therefore, or of most of them, is embraced in 



ZOOLOGY. 211 

methodical and technical language, and to adopt this in a 
work addressed to the popular mind, would be injudicious 
and foreign to its purpose. Having already derived aid 
from the valuable work of the late Dr. Richardson, en- 
titled an " Introduction to Geology," (by far the best 
compendium of that science with which we are acquainted,) 
I shall compile mainly from it the information necessary 
to conduct the reader over this important branch of the 
subject — a subject which, under the name of Conchology, 
comprises in itself a vast and exhaustless field in the il- 
limitable domain of Natural Science. '' The Spongiaria," 
he observes, " are among the lowest forms of animal life. 
They are composed of a horny frame-work, invested with 
a simple gelatinous tissue, and furnished with vibratile 
cilia, for causing currents of water to flow through their 
porous structure; the horny net-work is consolidated with 
silicious or calcareous spiculse. The Spongiaria remain 
rooted to rocks at the bottom of the sea, or hang like liv- 
ing stalactites from the vaulted arches of submarine caves ; 
or their delicate vegetable forms droop in endless variety 
from the shelving edges of rocks exposed to the washing 
of the surge. They are reproduced by small gemmae, 
covered with cilia, which are free organisms during the 
first period of their existence. We form three orders of 
this class : the first have silicious spiculae, the second 
calcareous spiculae, and the third have a horny nei-ivork 
without either. Fossil sponges are found in most strata, 
either entire or decomposed into spiculae. . . Like the 
bodies of recent Spongiaria, the silicious fossils contain 
Infusoria in the interior, which may be detected by the 
microscope." The spiculae of fresh-water sponges are 
found in great profusion in lacustrine Tertiary beds, along 
with the shields of fossil Infusoria. Many of the moss 
agates are of spongious origin, and present some of the 



212 THE FIFTH DAT — GEOLOGICAL. 

most beautiful gems that come under the eye of the 
lapidist. 

''The skeleton of the Folypifera assumes a vast variety 
of forms, being horny or calcareous, globular or branched, 
solid or tubular, stellate, porous, or retiform. The gel- 
atinous organized substance of the animal is inclosed in 
ramified tubular sheaths, or expanded over the surface of 
the calcareous skeleton which it incloses and secretes. 
The mouth of the polyp is surrounded with numerous 
filaments, which, in the highest groups, are furnished with 
vibratile cilia. Each polyp, or digestive sac, contributes 
a moiety to the nourishment of the compound body with 
which it is originally united. This physiological relation 
occasions remarkable associations ; hence the stupendous 
results obtained from their operations in the seas of inter- 
tropical regions, by which the life of the individual is 
combined with the life of the whole, and the nutriment 
prepared by each organism is made to contribute to the 
nourishment of the community, as in the red coral." The 
calcareous skeletons of some Anthozoa are very abundant, 
and attain a great magnitude in the Pacific, where they 
contribute largely to the formation of islands and conti- 
nents. Dr. Darwin, in his work on Coral Reefs, has 
shown that the zoophytic productions may be classified 
into three groups — Atolls, Barrier-reefs, and Fringing- 
reefs ; that the vital operations of the animal are limited 
within a range of thirty fathoms, and that beyond that 
depth they cannot live ; while the forms which the reefs 
assume depend upon the elevation or subsidence of the 
ocean's bed, on which the foundations of the zoophytic 
structure are laid. Coral-reefs stretch along the shores of 
!N'ew Caledonia to the length of four hundred miles, while 
they extend on the northeast coast of Australia for up- 
ward of a thousand miles. Hundreds of islands in the 



THE MICROSCOPIC WCRLD. ^13 

Pacific are made up almost exclusively of their calcareous 
remains. 

The class of Polypifera is divided into two orders, the 
Bryozoa and the Anthozoa. The first comprises five or 
six famihes, and the other more than a dozen, separated 
into two sub-orders. It is unnecessary here even to men- 
tion the names of these subordinate groups, because the 
distinctions between them are extremely delicate, and diffi- 
cult of specific identity, while it is by no means essential 
to a proper understanding of the animals as a class. The 
Bryozoan order is the most highly organized coral of the 
class, and the fact that it existed during the Silurian era, 
disproves the idea of a progressive development even in 
the first and lowest forms of animal life ever created. 

The class of Infusoria are so called because they origi- 
nate and abound in infusions of decomposed vegetation in 
ponds, lakes, rivers, and seas. They are the animalculae 
of vegetable juices, and are so inestimably minute, that 
they can often be detected only by the highest powers of 
the microscope. But, small as they are, they comprise 
many distinct genera, and many hundreds of species. 
Some of them are inclosed in silicious shells, marked with 
longitudinal, transverse, or oblique lines, or adorned with 
various other forms of minute sculpturing. Many of them, 
especially of the families BaciUai'idoe and Feridinidce, 
are found in a fossil state in the Tertiary beds of Europe 
and America. 

Prof. Ehrenberg, of Germany, who has devoted par- 
ticular attention to this branch of microscopic investiga- 
tion, has ascertained that twenty-four thousand of these 
organisms, placed together, would not measure one inch 
in length. In some infusions, indeed, the creatures are 
so small, that ten thousand can swim in such a space ; 
hence a cubic inch would contain more organized animal- 
culae than there are human beings on the surface of the 



214 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

earth I The substance known as Tripoli is composed 
wholly of the silicious shields of these animals. And 
Ehrenberg has estimated that a cubic line of this polishing 
stone contains, in round numbers, the remains of no less 
than 23,000,000 of individuals. But, as there are in a 
cubic inch 1,'728 lines, therefore there would be in a 
cubic inch of Tripoli, as sold at the shops, no less than 
39,144,000,000 of the fossil armor of the extinct animal- 
c'ulae I "This overpowering force of numbers," says the 
late Alexander von Humboldt, in speaking of the propa- 
gation of the light of luminous cosmical bodies, " is as 
clearly manifested in the smallest organisms of animal 
life as in the Milky "W-^v of these self-luminous suns which 
we call fixed stars. What masses of Polythalamise are 
inclosed, according to Ehrenberg, in one thin stratum of 
chalk I This eminent investigator of nature asserts that 
one cubic inch of the Bilin polishing slate, which consti- 
tutes a sort of mountain cap forty feet in height, contains 
forty-one thousand millions of the microscopic Galionella 
distans; while the same volume contains more than one 
billion seven hundred and fifty thousand millions of dis- 
tinct individuals of Galionella ferruginea. Such estimates 
remind us of the treatise, named Arenarius, of Archimedes 
— of sand-grains which might fill the universe of space ! 
If the starry heavens, by incalculable numbers, magni- 
tude, space, duration, and length of periods, impress man 
with the conviction of his own insignificance, his physical 
w^eakness, and the ephemeral nature of his existence ; he 
is, on the other hand, cheered and invigorated by the con- 
sciousness of having been enabled, by the application and 
development of intellect, to investigate very many im- 
portant points in reference to the laws of Nature and the 
sidereal arrangement of the Universe." 

In Lapland and Finland there are beds of fossil fauna, 
which the natives mix with flour, and eat. The micro- 



MIC3R0SC0PIC ANIMALS. 215 

scope shows that this farina, which occurs a« a commi- 
nuted powder, consists of the shields of infusoria. Their 
fossils are also found in opals and semi-opals, stones 
which often rank next to the diamond in value, and, in the 
play of colors, fully equal it in beauty. 

The Foramenifera are microscopic animals of a simple, 
gelatinous, fleshy substance, without appreciable organiza- 
tion, which secrete a delicate, calcareous, and .many-cham- 
bered shell, of extreme beauty, into the cells of which the 
body of the animal retires. The animal, by peculiar 
expansions and retractile movements, is enabled to crawl 
and swim. They are alike wonderful for the simplicity 
of their organization, and the variety and delicate sstmc- 
ture of their shells. Plancus collected 6,000 shells from 
an ounce of sand, on the shores of the Adriatic, and 
D'Orbigny found 3,840,000 in the same quantity of sand 
on the shores of the Antilles. Saldami collected from 
less than an ounce and a half of rock, from the hills of 
Casciana, in Tuscany, 10,454 fossil shells of Foramenifera. 
Several of the species are so minute, that 500 weigh only 
one grain, and others, still more minute, would require 
double that number to make the same weight. Yet, so 
abundant are their remains, that they often form banks 
that blockade navigable channels, obstruct gulfs of' the 
sea, or fill up harbors, and, aided by the polyps, form ex- 
tensive islands in tropical seas, or along continents, 
hundreds of miles in length. Their shells occur in great 
abundance in the Tertiary strata, while about twenty 
species are found in the ooHte, and two hundred and fifty 
in the chalk. But they are still more numerous in the 
modern era — D'Orbigny, the celebrated French Concholo- 
gist, having identified over nine hundred species now 
living in our seas. 

"The Echinodermata,''^ says Dr. Richardson, ''forms 
the true type of the radiata division, and is composed of 



216 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

animals, fixed and free, with a highly- organized integu- 
ment, for the most part armed with movable spines. In 
the rayed families, the organs of locomotion are disposed 
around a central axis (and are hence often called sea- 
stars). In the spherical forms, they are ranged in rows 
like the lines of longitude on a terrestrial globe, and 
the mouth and the arms are situate at the opposite 
poles. Each element of the body is in general repeated 
five times. Thus, the sea-lily has five primary arms ; the 
sea-star, five rays ; and the sea-urchin, five pairs of per- 
forated and five pairs of imperforated plates in its shell. 
The external surface of the skeleton supports a series of 
movable spines, and the perforated portion gives passage 
to thousands of tubular feet for gliding over the bed of the 
shallow shores they inhabit. The three higher orders of 
this class, are free, ambulatory animals, while the crenoids 
are generally fixed by a calcareous stem, like the polyps. 
The higher forms also possess visual organs — a feature in 
which all the other radiata are deficient. The Echinoder- 
mata have a distinct system of vessels for the circulation 
of the blood, and some of them a tree-like organ for respi- 
ration. The class comprises four orders — HoJothurida, 
Echinida, Aster ida, and Grinoida. 

Such, in brief, are the varied and minute aqueous crea- 
tures whose delicate secretions have, in the course of ages, 
wrought the most stupendous and wonderful changes 
upon the earth. Inhabiting the more shallow bottoms of 
the sea, their vegetable instincts have covered it with 
magnificent coral orchards, that sparkle in the water like 
the ice-spangled foliage of winter, and elaborating, as it 
were, pebbled fruits of agates, opals, and emeralds. 
While thousands of millions of them, as we have seen, 
could occupy a cubic inch of water, and then not feel any 
thing like the ambition "for enlarging the area of freedom" 
which has ever distinguished filibustering man, they have 



WORKS OP MICROSCOPIC ANIMALS. 217 

yet reared up monuments of their untiring industry and 
combined power, far greater and more enduring than the 
pyramids of Egypt, or the marble temples of Greece and 
Rome — temples which, in fact, are often erected with 
rocks composed of their fossil remains. Their islands 
stretched, and even now extend hundreds of miles amid 
the watery fields of ocean, and their peninsulas have 
brought whole continents into friendly union. Such are 
the creatures — the unseen workers which the great Creator 
employs to carry out his architectural designs. 

The Mollusca, which form the second great division of 
animal life, are generally distinguished for a body inar- 
ticulate, soft, and pulpy, and usually inclosed in a cal- 
careous shell. The primary division of the class is based 
on the development of the nervous system, and on the 
presence or absence of the ganglia that represent the 
brain. The first form the Encephalous, and the second 
the Acephalous orders. The encephalous possess organs 
of sense, and their blood circulates in a system of arteries 
and veins, aided by the contraction of a two-chambered 
heart. The terrestrial, and most of the lacustrine species, 
breathe by an air-sac or lung ; and all the marine, and 
most of the lacustrine species, have branchiae for respira- 
tion. Their shells are composed of a cellular, albuminous 
membrane, indurated by carbonate of lime, and secreted 
by a portion of the tegumentary system or mantle. The 
shell is generally external, and presents a great variety of 
forms. Sometimes it is internal, and appears like a rudi- 
mentary bone. They are for the most part marine 
animals ; but many inhabit fresh-water lakes, and a few 
live on the land. The character of the shells varies with 
their habitat — those of the marine species are large and 
heavy, while in the others they are usually light and deli- 
cate. The Acephalous are all aquatic, and embrace three 
sub-classes : the Tunicata have no shell, but are inclosed 



218 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

in an elastic muscular sac, with two openings ; some are 
solitary, others social, and organically united in groups 
like polyps. The Brachiopoda are inclosed in a bivalve 
shell. They have two long spiral arms, developed from 
the sides of the mouth, and fixed to an internal frame 
work. The Conchifera have also a bivalve shell, and 
respire by laminated branches attached to the mantle; 
Most of them have a fleshy foot for locomotion. 

The Encephalous class are divided into sub-classes ac- 
cording to the modifications of their organs of locomo- 
tion. The Gasteropoda are generally inclosed in a uni- 
valve shell. They creep by means of muscular discs, 
situated under the body. The Pteropoda swim by two 
wing-like membranes, situated at the sides of the neck. 
When they have a shell, it is thin, fragile, and univalve. 
The Cephalopoda have their locomotive organs arranged 
round the head, in the form of eight or more arms, with 
or without sucking discs. Some have internal bones, as 
the Lepia and Laligo. Others have an external many- 
chambered shell. 

The classes of MoUusca, thus enumerated, embrace to- 
gether many hundred species, some of which, from their rela- 
tion to the ancient earth, deserve special consideration. Of 
the Brachiopoda, the species Terehiatula were very numer- 
ous and constituted nearly one-fourth of the Mollusca of the 
primary eras. The calceola, chonetes, leptoena, producius, 
etc., are found only in the paleozoic rocks. The Conchi- 
fera embrace nearly a thousand species, many of which 
are found in the most ancient rocks, and although their 
generic forms have slightly varied during the long periods 
which have elapsed, nothing is observed in their history 
to justify the supposition that there is any process of de- 
velopment from lower to higher forms. Yery remarkable 
changes, however, have taken place in species at difl'erent 
periods. Of nearly a thousand species obtained from the 



MOLLUSCAN ANIMALS. 219 

Tertiary, more than a seventh part of them were found to 
be identical with living species of the same or of distant 
latitudes. While, in the same genera, the number of 
species found in the Tertiary, often exceeds that of the 
species now known in a living state. It appears that 
there has been a constant oscillation in the number of 
species in each genus in the Tertiary, as compared with 
the modern epoch ; but there has been no gradual perfec- 
tioning of the same.* 

The remains of the Gasteropoda are important to the 
geologist, as affording unequivocal evidence of thefluviatile, 
lacustrine, and marine conditions under which strata were 
formed. " The species of gasteropoda," says Prof. Grant, 
" are much less abundant in the ancient grauwacke (Silu- 
rian) limestones than those of bivalved mollusc a ; only 
about seventy species of the former having been yet iden- 
tified in the strata of that epoch, and a quarter of these 
belong to the extinct genus euomphalus, which ceases with 
the carboniferous rocks. Most of the species, however, 
observed in these ancient grauwacke formations, are re- 
fen*ed to existing genera, as turritella, of which about ten 
species occur ; turbo, six species ; buccinum, patella, del- 
phinula, five each ; nerita, pileopsis, trochus, and phasia- 
nella, three species each." 

The Pteropoda, it has already been remarked, swim by 
muscular membranous expansions of the mantle, which 
project from the sides of the head. Their body is naked, 
or sometimes protected by a delicate shell. They are 
small animals that float on the surface of the ocean far 
away from shore. In the North Seas, the clio and li- 
ruacia swarm in such abundance that they are said to 
constitute the food of the whale. The clio is provided 
with a singularly complex apparatus, which has recently 

* Bichardeon's Introduction to Geology, p. 237. 



229 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

been described by Eschricht of Copenliagen. The head 
is furnished with six retractile appendages, which have a 
reddish tint, from the number of distinct red spots distri- 
buted over the surface, amounting in each to about three 
thousand. When viewed with a microscope, each speck 
is seen to be the orifice of a sheath which contains about 
twenty pedunculated sucking discs, that are capable of 
protrusion for the prehension of prey; so that the head 
of the clio borealis is armed with three hundred and sixty 
thousand microscopic suckers — an instrument which, for 
complexity, is quite unique in the animal series. 

The Cephalopida have a thick, soft, fleshy body, some- 
times protected by a shell, and sometimes naked. The 
mantle is a musculo-membranous sheath, inclosing the 
digestive, respiratory, circulating, and generative organs. 
The head is distinct from the trunk ; is of large size, and 
round form. It contains the organs of the five senses, 
and those for mastication and deglutition. It is surrounded 
by a circle of fleshy processes, or feet, from whence the 
name of the class is derived. The eyes are two in number, 
of large size, and highly organized. The mouth is armed 
with a pair of vertical, horny or calcareous jaws, resem- 
bling the bill of a parrot, and inclose a fleshy tongue. 
The class comprises two orders, the principal one being 
the Tentaculifera, of which the Nautilus Pompilius is the 
type. They have large extended univalve shells, sym- 
metrical in form, and divided internally into a series of 
chambers, the last being very capacious, for lodging the 
body of the animal. A tube passes through all the cham- 
bers, and opens into a muscular sac surrounding the breast. 
This apparatus is intended to facilitate the ascent and de- 
scent of the animal in water, by determining an increase 
or diminution in the specific gravity of the shell — the 
reservoir and siphon can be distended with water, thereby 
augmenting the weight of the shell, or emptied by the 



ANIMALS OP THE ANCIENT SEAS. 221 

contraction of its muscular walls, and thus enabling the 
animal to float. The weight of the sea- water is the ballast 
by which they thus ascend or descend. Their eyes are 
more simple than those of the Acetahuliferce, which com- 
pose the other class of the order. 

The Tentaculifera comprise three families — the Nau- 
tilidse, the Clymenidae, and the Ammonitidae. The first 
have the siphon in the middle of the septa, a spiral or 
straight shell, and a septa simple or sinuous. The family 
contains but one living genus, known as the nautilus. 
This has a spiral shell, rolled on the same plane, and volu- 
tions at all ages contiguous, apparent, or concealed. It 
contains more than one hundred and twelve species, which 
made their first appearance in the Devonian rocks, and 
attained their highest development during the coal period. 
After appearing in all the subsequent eras, but two living 
species now remain. The Clymenidoe have the siphon in 
the internal part of the septa ; and the shell is spiral, arched 
or straight. The genera melia, cameroceras,phragmoceras, 
and clymenia are extinct, and belong to the paleozoic era. 
These shells are very beautiful. The Ammonitidce have 
the siphon at the external dorsal part of the septa ; and 
the shell is spiral or straight, arched or bent in various 
forms. The genera oncoceras, cyrtoceras, gyoceras, cryp- 
toceras, and stenoceras are all found in the paleozoic era. 
Goniatites are Devonian and carboniferous, and ceratites 
are triassic forms. The G. Ammonites form a regular 
spiral, rolled on the same plane, with the turns contiguous. 
Five hundred and thirty species of this genus have been 
identified. They comprise some of the most ornate and 
magnificent shells of the ocean. In each of the eighteen 
geological stages in which ammonites are found, certain 
groups of specific forms are found to characterize the dif- 
ferent beds. 

The ten-armed Cephalopods, with internal shells, com- 



222 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

prise the families of SpicuUdce, LoligidcBj Tenthidce, and 
Belemnitidoe. The first have an internal calcareous shell, 
with a series of air-chambers, traversed by a siphon. It 
includes living and fossil genera. The second family have 
an internal horny plate of a feather-like form, but no air- 
chambers. Fossils are found in the oolite. The third 
have an internal blade, like an arrow, also without air- 
chambers. Fossils of these genera occur in the oolite. 
The Belemnites have an internal horny skeleton, and a 
testaceous shell, formed of air-chambers, piled on each 
other in a straight line, and traversed by a lateral and 
marginal siphon. The genera are all extinct. They 
occur in the oolite and chalk, and distinguish the strata 
by their specific forms. 

The Tentaculifera were among the first animal forms 
that appeared on the earth, being found in the Silurian 
rocks. There were twenty-two genera in the Paleozoic 
period ; seven in the triassic ; the same number in the 
oolite ; fourteen in the cretaceous, and but one genus in 
the modern seas. The Acetabulifera appeared in the 
oolite with twelve genera, and in the Tertiary with four ; 
five, however, still survive.* 

The annexed table, originally compiled by the great 
French conchologist, Alcide d'Orbigny, presents the num- 
ber of species of Radiata and Mollusca belonging to each 
geological or stratigraphical stage of the earth. It exhibits 
at a glance the whole extent and distribution of their fossil 
remains, and of their specialty to particular eras. The 
species now living are omitted, but they are for the 
most part indicated in the Pliocene, the last stage of the 
Tertiary. 

* The authors cited in the foregoing compilation, besides Dr. Richard- 
son, are Pictet's Paleontologie, Magazine of Natural History, Mantell's 
Isle of Wight, Pictorial Atlas, Natural History of Crinoida, the British 
Annual, Prof. Gray, Dr. Wright, D'Orbigny, Owen, etc., etc. 



ANIMALS OP THE ANCIENT SEAS. 



223 



TABLE EXHIBITING THE DISTRIBUTION OP FOSSIL MOL- 
LUSCA AND RADIATA IN EACH FORMATION. 



GEOLOGICAL STAGES OR SUB-ERAS. 



Pliocene 

Miocene 

Eocene 

Nummulite 

Upper Chalk 

Lower Chalk 

Upper Greensand. 
Gault 



Lower Greensand and Wealden, 

Portland Beds , 

Kimmeridge Clay 

Coral Rag 

Oxford Clay 

Kelloway Rock 

Bath Oolite 

Inferior Oolite , 

Upper Lias , 

Middle Lias 

Lower Lias 

Red Marls 

Muschelkalk of Germans .... 

Magnesian Limestone , 

CarWbiferous or Coal 

Devonian, or Old Red, etc 

Upper Silurian 

Lower Silurian 



Total 14.947 





HI 




444 


162 


606 


2903 


160 


3063 


1478 


199 


167^7 


662 


132 


694 


1208 


624 


1232 


218 


148 


366 


627 


183 


810 


307 


52 


359 


656 


124 


781 


69 


2 


61 


184 


16 


200 


403 


235 


638 


499 


230 


729 


253 


26 


278 


407 


125 


632 


608 


94 


602 


273 


14 


287 


270 


13 


283 


163 


12 


175 


619 


114 


733 


104 


3 


107 


82 


9 


91 


887 


161 


1048 


1054 


146 


1200 


356 


61 


418 


375 


52 


427 


14.947 


3,000 


17,947 



The Mollusca iiiliabiting the seas and lakes of the mod- 
ern era, are perhaps no less numerous and varied than 
they were in previous eras. Indeed, it will be seen by 
the table already presented, that they attained their great- 
est development in the ancient earth during the Tertiary 
period ; while the table below, compiled from the re- 
searches of Baron Cuvier and other distinguished natural- 
ists, will sufficiently indicate that there has been no 
diminution of species, whatever depreciation, if any, may 
have occurred in individual numbers. It will also ex- 
15 



224 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

hibit, in a very remarkable degree, that instead of the 
ancient forms having passed into a higher grade of ani- 
mals, they are still maintained in their original and un- 
deviating moulds ; which, indeed, nothing short of direct 
and specific creation could change: 

TABLE EXHIBITING THE SPECIES OF LIVING MOLLUSCA. 

MULTIVALVES, OR SHELLS WITH MANY VALVES. 
Genera — classic terms. Genera — common names. JVb. species. 

Chiton Coat-of-mail 28 

Lepas Acorn shell 32 

Pholas Stone-piercer 12 

BIVALVES, OR SHELLS WITH TWO VALVES. 
Oenera — classic terms. Genera — common numes. No. species, 

Mya Truucate, trough-shell, or gaper 26 

Solen Razor-sheath, or knife-handle 23 

Tellina Tellen 94 

Cardium Cockle, or heart-shell 52 

Mactra Kneading-trough 27 

Donax Wedge-shell....' 19 

Venus Venus 153 

Spondylus Thorny oyster, or artichoke head 4 

Chama Clamps, or clams 25 

Area Ark 43 

Ostrea Oyster and scallop ..36 

Anomia Antique lamp ,51 

Mytilus Mussel , 64 

Pirnea « Fin-shell, or sea wing 18 

UNIVALVES, SINGLE VALVE WITH REGULAR SPIRE. 
Genera — classic terms. Genera — common names. No. species. 

Argonauta Paper sailor 5 

Nautilus Pearly sailor 31 

Conus Cone 83 

Cyproea Cowry ; 120 

Bulla Dipper, or bubble 52 

Voluta Volute, or wreath 144 

Buccinum Whelk. 200 

Strombus Winged, or claw shell 53 

Murex Trumpet, or rock shell 182 

Trochus Top-shell 33 

Trubo Wreath, gig, or top-shell 151 

Helix Snail or spiral 267 

Nerita , Nerit, or hoof-shell 76 

Haliotis Sea-ear, or ear-shell 19 

Tpt3,l genera 31 Total species 2,106 



ANIMALS OP THE ANCIENT SEAS. 225 

It will thus be observed that the species of Mollusean 
animals are quite as numerous in the present geological 
era as they were in any of those of previous formations. 
They were only surpassed by the Miocene stage of the 
Tertiary, which, however, contained many allied with 
species still living. This overwhelming fact ought to be 
sufficient to put the seal of condemnation upon all theories 
contemplating a gradual change and development of or- 
ganic speciesi, from a lower to a higher type, or from a 
higher to a lower type. 

The third primary division of animal life comprises the 
Articulata — animals that, in the absence of a true skele- 
ton, have their bodies surrounded by movable rings, or by 
coats of horny or calcareous enamel. They range higher 
in the scale of organization than the Molluscans, but 
neither are furnished with the skeleton of the Vertebrata. 
They are divided into six classes — the Annelida, Cir- 
rhipoda, Crustacea, Arachnida, 3Iyriopoda, and Insecta. 
All of these, again, comprise numerous sub-classes, fami- 
lies, and species. 

The Annelides are worms with red blood, and have a 
soft, elongated, and articulated body, divided in folds and 
segments. Some of them form tubes to live in, either of 
calcareous matter exuded from their own body, or from 
foreign substances ; to which tubes, however, they are 
not attached. None of this family have feet; but the 
greater number have setoe, or bundles of stiff movable 
hairs, which supply their place. They are generally her- 
maphrodite ; and their food consists of insects and vege- 
tables. Nearly all live in the water, or bury themselves 
in holes in mud or sand. The sea lumhrici, or worms, 
though forming a numerous and diversified family, yet 
require no particular notice. The lumhrici terrestres, or 
common earth-worms, so well known, are the only ani- 
mals of this class which do not enter the water. They 



226 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

are destitute of eyes, attain to about a foot in length, and 
their body is divided bj a hundred or more rings. They 
pierce the earth with ease. At least twenty species are 
known. It may be here remarked that the earth-worm is 
a great assistant and friend to the farmer and gardener. 
Living near the surface, their perforations aerify the soil, 
and allow the passage of water to the roots of vegetation. 
Their secretions also contribute to the chemical changes 
which occur in the processes of vegetation, and furnish to 
the young roots the very nourishment they require. De- 
spised and trodden upon by man, the Creator seems to 
have intended them as a secret auxiliary in the economy 
of the earth, by aid of which it is clothed with flowers, 
fruits, and herbs. Yet many a fool, unable to comprehend 
the wisdom and goodness of Providence, would shrug his 
shoulders in affected disgust at these slimy burrowers, 
and wonder why they were suffered to crawl upon the 
earth ! The wonder, indeed, is that they themselves 
should be allowed to feast and revel upon the labors of 
God's humble workers ! 

The Annelides embrace two orders, the first character- 
ized by naked bodies, as the Nerites, and the other by a 
calcareous or membranous tube or sheath. To these be- 
long the Serpula of the Devonian and oolitic rocks, the 
Terehella, and the Spinorhis and Siliquaria of the Ter- 
tiary. The common leech, so extensively employed in 
medicine, belongs to the former order. It is furnished 
with a three-fold and triangular jaw, with two ranges of 
very fine teeth, which act like a cupping-glass. The 
blood with which the animal will gorge itself does not go 
into, the stomach, but into distinct vessels, hence a single 
meal will suffice its appetite for more than a year ! 

The Ci7^rhipoda are marine animals, and are usually 
found attached to rocks. It is inclosed in a multivalve 
shell, and was formerlv ranked with Molhi scans. There 



FOSSIL SHELL- ANIMALS. 22 T 

are two families, and several varieties are found in the 
Tertiary and oolite rocks. The species Balanus, Acastra, 
Gorunola, etc., belong to one family ; while Anatifa, Pol- 
licipes, and Aptychus are characteristic of another. 

The Crustacea comprises a large, varied, and numerous 
filass, which is arranged into eight orders. The skeleton 
is in the form of an external crust, exuded from the ves- 
sels of the skin, and hardened with carbonate and phos- 
phate of lime. At certain periods this crust is thrown 
off, to permit the growth of a new one. The crabs and 
lobsters are true types of the class ; but it comprehends 
all animals with articulated feet, a heart for circulation, 
and branchias for respiration. Their feet comprise at 
least six, and their eyes three in number — ^^the latter oc- 
curring as simple lenses, or comprising a number of com- 
pound lenses. 

The order Isopoda is represented by the common wood- 
louse, which have been found fossil in amber ; but a large 
number of marine and terrestrial genera occur in the 
wealden and Tertiary beds of Europe. The order De- 
copoda comprises the prawns, shrimps, and craw-fish now 
living ; and other families are represented by the lobsters 
and crabs. Of the prawn family, more than a dozen 
genera occur in the upper lias ; while of the lobster, or 
Asiacidce group, some ten or more are found in a fossil 
state. All these animals are still so numerous and uni- 
versally diffused over the earth, that no description of 
them is required. 

The order Gyproida are microscopic creatures, inclosed 
in bivalve shells, united by a hinge on the back. They 
can close the valve entirely, and protrude the feet at 
pleasure. There are five fossil genera known, some of 
which existed during the Silurian era, while certain 
species still survive in our seas. The remains of Cypris 



228 THE FIFTH DAY— GEOLOGICAL. 

were extremely abundant in the fresh- water strata of the 
wealden. 

" The order Trilobites,^^ says Dr. Richardson, '' had the 
carapace composed of several rings, divided into three 
lobes by two lateral depressions. The number of thoracic 
segments varies from five to twenty. The lateral lobes 
of the anterior segment support the eyes, which are pro- 
minent and compressed, and are often preserved in the 
fossils in a high state of perfection. Their feet were 
membranous. Many of them had the power of rolling 
themselves into a ball. They all belonged to the paleozoic 
era. They lived in numerous families and presented an 
immense association of individuals, but were much re- 
stricted in the number of genera and species. They are 
arranged into six families — the Asaphidce, GalymenidcB, 
Sarperidoe, Olenidce, Odontopleuridce, and Ogygidce. The 
two first named could roll themselves into a ball, a feature 
which usually distinguishes their fossils from those of the 
others. " 

The Arachnida, or spiders, comprise a numerous class. 
Koch and Berenat have described one hundred and twenty- 
three species, belonging to fifty genera, of which thirteen 
are extinct, while none are identical with those still living. 
There are but few fossil specimens in the older rocks ; but 
the presence of Cyclopthalmus, a genus of the scorpion, 
in the carboniferous stage of Bohemia, proves that the 
class was represented in the fauna of the primary epoch, 
and supplies another link to the chain of evidence that the 
flora of the coal resembled that now growing in tropical 
regions. Fossil spiders are also found in the amber of 
Prussia. 

The web which the common spider constructs, shows 
it to be alike cunning, cruel, ingenious, and persevering. 
Their first effort is to throw out a cable, stretching from 
one object or abutment to another. After this they pro- 



FOSSIL WORMS AND INSECTS. 229 

ceed to form a series of radiating spokes, whicli they 
afterwards strengthen and join together by means of trans- 
verse lines, which increase in width and length from the 
centre, where the animal takes up his position, and watches 
for his prey. As soon as a fly runs against it, his wings 
and sticky limbs become fastened in the fabric, and he 
flutters in vain to escape. In the mean time, his victim 
is scarcely secured, before the spider with great swiftness 
pounces upon it, and bears it off to his central station, 
where it is leisurely devoured. The exterior body of the 
spider is furnished with a reel, upon which his delicate 
yarn is spun as rapidly as it is woven. His limbs serve 
the purpose of a measure when constructing his net, 
which is always built according to the most exact geo- 
metrical proportions. The spider "knows no such word as 
fail." No matter how often its webs may be destroyed, 
he will rebuild them with renewed energy — sometimes 
rolling up and cleaning old material to be again employed 
in new enterprises. 

The Myriapoda are represented by centipedes, which 
have a body composed of twenty-four feet. The scorpion 
of Europe belongs to the order, and attains a very high 
development in Asia, where it is called a land lobster. 
They conceal themselves under stones and old walls, and 
are distinguished for their fatal assaults upon each other. 
Extinct genera have been found in the same rocks with 
the spiders. 

The class Insecia embraces an almost innumerable 
variety of genera and species, which it would require vol- 
umes adequately to describe. The distinguishing genuine 
features are indicated in the annexed table, to which we 
shall add some brief descriptions, principally collated from 
Bucknell's Natural History, an English work of two vol- 
umes, which has been of material service to us in the de- 
partment of which it treats : 



230 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

CURVIER'S TWELVE ORDERS OF INSECTS. 

Gommon names 
Classical names of genera and 

of orders. General habits, features, and character. species. 

C Insects •which have more than six feet, ar- ") Millepeds, 
Myriopoda.K ranged on the body in a series of rings, >hundred legs, 

( without wings, but uiany jaws, such as ) etc. 

( Insects with six feet, the belly furnished on ") 
7'hyaanoura.< the sides with false feet or appendnges > Padura, etc. 

( for leaping, without wings or jaws, such rs } 

D •, ( Parasites, having six feet, with suckers, } r • * 
Parasita.< . 4. • ■ u > Lice, etc. 

\ but no jaws or wings, such as ) ' 

C Suckers with six feet, and suoker-like ') 

Suctoria.< mouth, but neither wings nor jaw:?, as > Fleas, etc. 

( the ) 

r Insects having six feet, four wings, (two "^ 

Coleoptera.< upper case-formed, and two lower fold- > Beetles, etc. 

( od,) and jaws, as the ) 

Orthoptera.i^'''Z^'. ^^*^ ^^^ ^^'^' ^""^ '^'^'^^^ ^^"^^ i Locusts, etc. 
■'^ I and jaws, as ) * 

( Insects with six feet, four wings, the two ') Cochineal in- 
Hemiptera.K upper of unequal consistence, a sucker, > sects, bed- 

( but no jaws — some without any wings, ) bugs, etc. 
,7- ^ ( Insects with six feet, four equal wings, ) t^ 
Neuroptera.^ and jaws .!..|^'"'^S 

TT ^ ( Insects with six feet, four unequal wings, ) Bees 

\ and jaws, ) an 

T 'J f ( Insects with six feet, four powdery wings, ) Butterflie 
pi op era. -^ a sucker, but no jaws, ) moths. 

D7 . . . (Insects with six feet, with two wings ) o. 1 
Rh^p^ptera. j ^.^^^^^ ^.j^^ ^ ^^^^ ^ ^;^j^^^^ ^^^ ^^ .^^^» ^ | Stylops. 

DipteruA^'''^'^' '"'^^ f^-^ t'^ *""• '^'""^'^''""'iCxnatsAflies. 
^ I wmgs, a sucker, but no. jaws, j 

The Diptera, embracing the various families of flies and 
gnats, are too well known to require further description 
than that contained in the foregoing table. They undergo 
a complete metamorphosis from their larval to their ma- 
ture condition, and their power of reproduction is truly 
wonderful. The gnat deposites her eggs in water, each 
brood having from two to three or four hundred. The 
common flies are sometimes concealed in ova, while others 
are brought forth alive. Those found in cheese have the 
singular faculty of leaping to a considerable distance. 
The insect limestones of the lower and upper lias of Glou- 



on-mes. 

wasps, 
ants, 
itterflies 



THE INSECT WORLD. 231 

cestershire, and those of Oxford and the wealden beds of 
England, and of Solenhofen in Germany, contain beautiful 
specimens of the wings of flies. Many are also preserved 
in the Tertiary rocks, and entire specimens occur in 
amber. 

Tlie order of Lepidoptera is mainly distinguished by 
caterpillars, or the silk-worm, one of the most important 
and remarkable insects in the entire class. It feeds upon 
the leaves of the mulberry, but many other caterpillars 
feed upon the leaves of oaks, and other forest trees, and 
sometimes destroy the foliage of vast groves and forests 
in a single season. The silk-worm envelops itself in 
minute silken threads, of a bright yellow color, in the 
form of a ball or cocoon, very much resembling in form a 
pigeon's egg. It remains inclosed in the cocoon for fif- 
teen days, and then eats its way out ; but in cocooneries 
for the production of silk, this habit is anticipated, and 
the animal inhabiting the cocoon is destroyed by heat. 
The silk of the cocoon is afterward reeled, and then woven 
into fabrics of every possible form. Each cocoon usually 
produces a thread four hundred yards in length.* 

Of butterflies and moths, thefe is an infinite variety, all 
undergoing similar transformations from birth to matu- 
rity. The moths are well known in consequence of their 
destructive effects upon cloths and furs, and which, from 

* Efforts were m.ade a few years ago to introduce the manufacture of 
silk into the United States, and it was inaugurated with an extraordinary 
movement in the planting of the morns multicntdis, the vegetable upon 
the leaves of which the caterpillar feeds. The experiment was overdone, 
and the speculation burst suddenly, like a bubble, involving many in 
heavy pecuniary losses. A few establishments, however, continued in 
operation, and that of Mr. Gill, in Wheeling, Va., was operated for many 
■yoars with considerable success. That gentleman produced from his 
factory some of the finest silk goods in the American market; but we 
believe the enterprise, after a trial of ten or fifteen years, was finally 
abandoned. 



232 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

their larvag, become caterpillars in fifteen days. They are 
provided with a loDg proboscis, coiled in a spiral form, by 
which they bore into the cloths, where they deposit their 
eggs. The lithographic limestones of Solenhofen, and 
the Tertiaries of France, contain fossil specimens, both 
of the caterpillar and the wings of the butterfly. 

Hymenoptera embrace bees, wasps, and ants in great 
variety of genera and species. Of these, the honey-bee is 
the most important and the most curious in its habits and 
organization. When a swarm quits an old hive, it is com- 
posed of one queen, or female bee, several hundred males, 
or drones, and many thousand workers, or neuters. 
Should there happen to be two or more queens, a mur- 
derous conflict ensues, the swarm remaining with the 
victor. In a new hive, they divide themselves into four 
parties — one of which rove the fields in search of mate- 
rials, another lay the foundation of the cells, a third polish 
and finish what the others have begun, and a fourth bring 
home food for themselves and for those laboring upon the 
hive. Things being thus arranged, the queen bee becomes 
fecundated, and then examines the cells in progress, and 
begins to lay eggs, depositing but one in each cell, which 
are of three kinds — the first and smallest are intended to 
produce workers, the second are for males, and the others, 
limited to a few very large ones, are for queen bees only. 
Several hundred eggs are generally laid in a single day, 
and which become living larvaB in four or six days. 
These are supplied with food by the hive-workers or 
nurses. When the larvae are six days old, the nurses close 
the cells with wax, and the entombed larvae begin to en- 
twine themselves with a silken sheet, and become nymphs. 
At the end of twelve days, they break their inclosure, and 
come forth perfect bees. They are now cleaned by the 
nurses, and then join the out-door workers. The eggs in 
the male cells are generally about two months later than 



THE INSECT WORLD. 233 

those of the workers, and the royal cells are not even 
begun until the queen has deposited her eggs in the male 
cells. The young queens are consequently the last 
hatched, and pass through the same metamorphosis as 
the others. In the event of a hive being deprived of their 
queen by accident, the workers have the capacity of pro- 
ducing another. This is done in the following extraor- 
dinary manner : the cells are examined for the larvae of 
workers which are not more than three days old^ On 
finding such, they immediately enlarge the cells of these 
larvae, feeding them with female or royal jelly, until, by 
dint of care and labor, a female is produced which is to 
replace the one lost. Besides the cells for rearing their 
young, others are made for the storage of honey, and 
which is destined for their use when none can be gathered 
from the flow^ers. On the weather becoming cold, not 
only are the larvae and nymphs destroyed, but the male 
bees also. Having no stings, like the workers and 
females, they are easily massacred, or driven out of the 
hive, and perish by the cold. During the winter the 
whole hive is in a state of half-lethargy.* Fossil remains 
of bees, wasps, and hornets are found in the insect lime- 
stones of the lias, and generally in the rocks of the Ter- 
tiary. 

The common ants also live in society, like bees and 
wasps, the community consisting of males, females, and 
workers — the workers always being without wings. 
Their mode of life is very similar to that of bees, but 
their nests are constructed in the ground, or beneath the 
roots of trees. It consists of a central cavity, with com- 
municating subterranean roads or galleries. They feed 
on fruits, insects, or carrion, and the various classes into 
which their community is divided always keep distinct. 

* Scripture Natural History. 



234 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

In proportion to size, the ant is no doubt the strongest 
animal upon the earth, as well as one of the most in- 
dustrious. 

The 'Beiiroptera are distinguished for the dragon-fly. 
These insects drop their spawn upon the surface of water, 
which, on sinking to the bottom, become larvae. From 
this state they change into nymphs, and then remain 
aquatic for two years or more. At length they crawl 
out upon adjacent twigs, and as their skin dries and 
shrinks, wings expand from their body, when they fly 
away— a new creature I There are several varieties of 
this insect, some of which remain many years in the 
water before emerging into the air. In the ephemera, the 
transition from the aqueous nymph to the winged insect 
is instantaneous after reaching the surface. 

The Ternietes or white ants of India and Africa, which 
are regarded as a serious evil in warm climates, have con- 
siderable resemblance to the European species, but they 
attain a much superior growth. They erect nests on the 
surface of the ground, which sometimes attain a height 
of ten or twelve feet., The nests are very tall, but slen- 
der, and terminate in rounded or conical peaks. They 
are perforated with galleries, in which the community, 
divided into various classes, reside — the king and queen 
having a central apartment to themselves. Their social 
government resembles that of man to a greater extent 
than that of the bee. The ant-hill is guarded by sentinels 
or soldiers, who appear to be specially created for that 
purpose, giving the alarm to the communities within on 
the approach of danger. They undergo metamorphoses 
similar to the other Neuroptera, but it is rather more in- 
complete. They surpass the bees and the beavers in 
mechanical art, and fully equal them in industry. In 
migrating, they observe all the military precision of sol- 
diers in battalion. 



THE INSECT WORLD. 235 

The order Hemiptera embraces bed-bugs, garden-bugs, 
plant-lice, cochineals, water-bugs, etc., etc. Some of 
these have the extraordinary faculty of fecundating their 
issue to the fourth and fifth generations. 

Orthoptera are principally represented by grasshoppers 
and locusts, of which there are many genera and species. 
Locusts are a great scourge to vegetation, and formed 
one of the plagues visited upon ancient Egypt. In some 
countries, however, the natives esteem them as a rare 
delicacy. Locusts are rare in America, but are supposed 
to make a visit in great number about every seventeenth 
year. Grasshoppers, however, which belong to the 
Locust family, are abundant, and are sometimes no less 
destructive to the crops of the fanner. They deposit their 
eggs in the ground in the fall of the year, and lying dor- 
mant during the winter, the warmth of the sun brings 
forth a wingless insect in the spring, which, in the course 
of twenty days, expels its outer skin, and then appears 
with wings. The common cricket is a member of the 
family. 

The Farasita include fleas, lice, and vermin of every 
description. 

The Coleoptera are made up mainly of beetles, as the 
May-bug, Hercules beetle of South America, the Glow- 
worm that, on summer evenings, lights up the way-side, 
the Undertaker beetle, etc., etc. — the latter so-called, be- 
cause it buries the bodies of other insects and worms. 
These animals were represented at the close of the paleo- 
zoic period, and their fossils occur in the carboniferous 
rocks. Indeed, nearly all the orders thus enumerated have 
their fossil remains strewn in the various strata, in greater 
or less abundance, from that early era., to the present time ; 
but there has been a constant variation of species in par- 
ticular eras, as the genera now living are, in a great 



236 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

measure, different from previous geological stages, and 
yet present specimens that appertained to each. 

Such is a brief and necessarily cursory survey of that 
portion of the animal kingdom, comprising its more min- 
ute creatures — creatures which, often unseen, yet fill the 
seas, the earth, and the air. The three great divisions 
of the Radiata, Mollusca, and Articulata comprise many 
thousand species, and many of their principal genera 
present more living creatures than those of the vertebrata, 
including man, combined ! 

Now, notwithstanding the low origin and humble nature 
of its animals, and the comparatively few specimens out- 
side of the Radiata and Mollusca, which it affords, many 
geologists, indeed nearly all of them, give more promi- 
nence as well as ]priority of existence to the aqueous 
fauna of the Paleozoic period, than to its wonderful and 
prolific flora. In other words, the Mollusca, Radiata, 
and Fish of the Silurian and Devonian eras, are recog- 
nized as overshadowing the vegetation of the coal period! 
And it is also claimed that animal life preceded vegetable 
life, and that, therefore, the Bible is again incorrect. I 
have already remarked that such an arrangement is alto- 
gether unjustifiable, besides being in conflict with Reve- 
lation, and the obvious course of nature. It may be 
granted, as our table will show, that during the Devonian 
and carboniferous eras, there was a considerable develop- 
ment of the lower orders of animal life, including speci- 
mens of Sauroid fishes. All these flourished to some 
extent, as will be seen by the table, during the Silurian 
period, but it was utterly impossible that they could have 
existed in the previous metamorphic seas, when these 
Avere periodically, if not constantly disturbed and heated 
by the transition of the rocks. It is true the whole ex- 
panse of waters may not have been heated at the same 
time. The effect may have been more local than general; 



VEGETABLE PRECEDING ANIMAL LIFE. 237 

but in either case its duration was constant. The heat, 
however, was always operating in the shallow places — 
always tending to elevate the bottom of lakes and marine 
basins ; and those are the very places where animal life 
could alone exist — the pressure of the water, in mid ocean, 
forbidding its existence there. We have, then, a limit — a 
positive barrier of heat and boiling water, beyond which it 
is impossible that animal life could have existed, either on 
the land or in the sea. This limit, too, may be found to 
extend farther into the Silurian rocks than is now gene- 
rally conceded. In fact, the fossil specimens thus far 
found in the lower strata of those rocks are so few and 
obscure, that it would be prudent not to place too much 
reliance upon them. Some specimens may yet prove to 
be no more ancient than the great Cobhara stone dis- 
covered by Mr. Pickwick. Of Kadiata, we may observe 
that there are thus far one hundred and twelve species in 
all the Silurian strata, and only nine in the Magnesian 
limestone above ; while in the intermediate Carboniferous 
and Devonian strata there are over three hundred species. 
The proportion of Mollusca is still more varied — there 
being nearly two thousand species in the last-mentioned 
periods, while those before and after have less than eight 
hundred. And notwithstanding that creatures half fish 
and half saurian flourished somewhat plentifully during 
portions of all these eras, it does not lessen the signifi- 
cance of the fact that animal existence, as a whole, was 
mainly represented by the Radiata and the Mollusca — 
the two lowest divisions in tlie scale. 

But that animal life of a strictly terrestrial and of an 
infinitely higher order exists in the juices of vegetation, 
at the present time, is a fact which nobody will be likely 
to controvert. Every woodman has observed, on splitting 
open the solid trunks of trees, the cut-worms and bugs 
which inhabit their centre. The worms inhabiting^ the 



238 THE riFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

cores of apples, pears, peaches, and other fruits, doubtless, 
enter from the outside ; but they are always hatched in 
the juices they feed upon. Those found in the interior 
of walnuts, chestnuts, and similar nuts, must originate 
there, and in fact constitute a portion of their oily sub- 
stance, as maggots do that of cheese. Certain kinds of 
trees generate worms and bugs peculiar to them ; and 
they are often so plentifully diffused as to utterly destroy 
the timber which they ravage. Hemlock breeds bed-bugs ; 
while oak, chestnut and hickory abound in cut-worms, 
borers, and crawling ants, which operate internally and 
externally, and appear to be inseparable from them. 
Other trees attract, if they do not generate caterpillars, 
which, feasting upon their - leaves, multiply to such an 
extent, that they exhaust the vitality of large numbers in 
a single season. This may be seen particularly in trees 
of dense foliage, selected to ornament private grounds. 
Weevils and grasshoppers originate in the crops of the 
farmer, and so destructive are their depredations that the 
product of entire plantations not unfrequently falls a 
sacrifice to their unappeasable appetites ! In like manner, 
certain species of borers attack the timbering of vessels, 
especially the submerged portion, and it often happens 
that they are utterly ruined by their perforations. During 
the Crimean w^ar, over one hundred and twenty vessels 
were sunk by order of the Russians in the harbor of Se- 
bastopol. After the war terminated, arrangements were 
made for raising these vessels ; but it was found that this 
marine teredo had, in the mean time, so completely per- 
forated the solid timbering, that many of them were 
worthless, and unfit for use. The timbers were, in some 
instances, bored in such a manner as to resemble the cel- 
lular structure of a sponge. The existence of worms in 
timber, and in the body of fruits and nuts, can perhaps 
only be accounted for on the supposition that their larvae 



VEGETABLE PRECEDING ANIMAL LIFE. 239 

or spawn, in the form of minute microscopic infusions, 
exists primarily in the water which the plants themselves 
absorb in their pores and cavities, and where they are sub- 
sequently developed. 

But whether the origin of the parasitic, microscopic, and 
coral animals be due to or associated with the primitive 
vegetation or not, is a matter of no particular conse- 
quence in reference to the priority of the one over the 
other — since we have the most conclusive evidence of the 
existence of vegetation during the metamorphic period, 
when, by reason of sub-marine heat, it was utterly im- 
possible that aquatic life could have existed. The coal 
and graphite of Rhode Island, of Scandinavia, of Cuba, 
and of portions of France and Germany sufficiently demon- 
strate the relation which the ancient forests bore to the 
rocks of that period. It will be vain and absurd to sug- 
gest that all these are merely altered Silurians or Devo- 
nians. They are true metamorphic rocks, occurring in 
their proper positions, and exhibiting all the external evi- 
dence of rocks belonging to that group. Nor do I stand 
alone in this opinion. Several geologists of distinction 
have intimated similar views, but have not expressed them 
with the boldness which the circumstances warrant. It 
is, however, time to vindicate the truth of the Mosaic 
record ; and when a fact has significance beyond and 
apart from geological inquiry, it should not be tampered 
with in half-suppressed doubts and misgivings. It is 
either a fact or it is not — it is either true or false. If it is 
a fact in geology that vegetation preceded animal life, both 
in the lualer and the dry land, it deserves to be known. I 
say it is a fact ; a^id I have thus given my reasons. I 
say it is also a fact — overwhelming and palpable — that 
vegetation distinguished the whole Paleozoic period, &nd 
far surpassed in extent and universality the animal crea- 
tures that flourished in its seas. These two great truths 
16 



240 THE FIFTH DAT — GEOLOGICAL. 

once admitted in Geology, there is no longer any serious 
embarrassment to its reconciliation with the simple narra- 
tive of Revelation. And it was with the conviction of 
the perfect harmony between them, when properly under- 
stood, that I have bestowed so much time and space to 
the investigation which the subject involves. 

Although the intervening fourth day was characterized 
by violent and extensive volcanic action, by the elevation 
of vast systems of mountains, and by the change of sea 
into land, it was yet not a geological but more properly 
an astronomical period, as Moses himself has indicated. 
Geologists generally, in speculating on the revealed Cos- 
mogony, appear to overlook this great fact. They treat 
all days in the light of geological phenomena, and thus 
construe plain facts into the most unwarrantable infer- 
ences and assumptions. Some writers make the geologic 
days as short as those of Jupiter or Saturn. The Silu- 
rian and Devonian ; the Carboniferous ; the Saliferous ; 
the Oolitic ; the Cretaceous ; the Tertiary ; the Quarter- 
nary, or Historic period ; all these are sometimes erected 
into Mosaic days, notwithstanding that the rocks and 
fossils of some of them do not occur in certain portions 
of the earth, and nowhere in regular superimposed order/ 
The Astronomical days, in the mean time, are unaccounted 
for ! JSTow, these are the kind of writers whose skill 
in technical nomenclature enables them to conceal their 
stupidity, and to impose on the confiding world, under the 
name of science, the most shameless trash which the pro- 
lific invention of dabsters in tautology can indite. 

The Secondary formation which we are now considering, 
comprehends a large number of layers of rock, classed 
into inferior systems, but under so many different names 
and local variations, that it is no easy matter to define 
their specific features. It, however, begins with the new 
red sandstone strata ; and although some geologists, under 



THE NEW RED SANDSTONE. 241 

the name of Permian, assign two of its principal groups 
to the Paleozoic period, from the seeming identity of their 
fossils, yet others, with^ equal propriety, group them all 
together, and style them collectively the new red sand- 
stone, Triassic or SalilPerous systems. The latter name 
is bestowed in consequence of the numerous deposits of 
rock-salt and brine springs found in these rocks; but 
they will perhaps be better understood by most persons in 
the United States by the appellation of new red sandstone, 
in contradistinction to the old red sandstone, over the up- 
tilted beds of which they often occur unconformably, or 
in a horizontal position — thus pointing out a difference 
in their ages, and indicating the disturbance which over- 
turned the old red before the new red was deposited. 
Including the Permian rocks, the new red sandstone 
system comprises : 1. red sandstone ; 2. magnesian lime- 
stone, (including calcareous conglomerate marble, of 
which large deposits extend across Pennsylvania, Mary- 
land, and Xew Jersey ;) 3. Variegated sandstone ; 4. Mus- 
chelkalk, seldom found in these measures outside of 
Germany ; and 5. variegated marls. These rocks are 
generally of marine origin, and their usefulness to man, in 
supplying vast quantities of salt, which is absolutely in- 
dispensable to human life, and in domestic economy, 
cannot be over-estimated. It is not, however, an accom- 
paniment of our American sandstones ; on the contrary, 
all the salt mines with which we are acquainted are in 
older rocks. Those of Rochester, in New York, are in 
Silurian strata ; while on the western slope of the Alle- 
ghany, along the Kiskiminetas, the Ohio, and Kanawha, 
in Virginia, salt is very abundant under the coal measures. 
In the last mentioned region, the salt-borings have in 
several places also tapped reservoirs of illuminating gas 
and liquid oil. This gas is collected on the surface, and 
applied to the evaporation of the salt of the brine. The 



242 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

new red sandstone of the Alleghany is derived mainly 
from the disintegration of the old red sandstone, underly- 
ing the coal. When the mountains were elevated, the 
salt was not transferred to the new rocks, as it probably 
had been at other places ; but was retained where origi- 
nally deposited, and where it had crystallized during the 
heat which elevated the coal. Under these circumstances 
it could not be drained off to the shallow estuaries of the 
new red sandstone, lying principally on the eastern slope 
of the mountain. There was an elevated axis which pre- 
vented this. They were therefore formed without the 
salt, to which they were otherwise entitled by natural 
drainage. The waters of the ocean, although they were 
in constant proximity, could not supply the deficiency, 
because the lakes were not shallow enough to effect the 
speedy evaporation. The ocean, therefore, in surging 
over the sandstone shores and lakes, lost little of his salt- 
ness ; and comparatively few of his animal creatures — for 
the American sandstones are almost as poor in one as the 
other. But if deficient in these, they furnish inexhaustible 
quantities of superior and beautiful building material. 
Impregnated and colored with the oxyd of iron, the 
"brown stone" of this group has been very extensively 
employed, during the last twenty years, in the Atlantic 
cities of America. It is perfectly homogeneous in com- 
position, and is readily carved into the most elaborate 
designs of architectural ornament. In En^^land, the mag- 
nesian limestone or marble has furnished the material of 
which the new houses of Parliament are constructed. 
This stone, when found crystalline in structure, is one of 
the most imperishable in the earth ; and it is somewhat 
singular that, with its abundance in the vicinity of many 
of our populous cities, its merits in the United States 
Bhould have been comparatively overlooked. Gypsum 



THE NEW RED SANDSTONE. 243 

(sulphate of lime) a species of alabaster or soft statuary 
marble also occurs, but sparingly, in this group. 

There was, upon the whole, a very considerable diminu- 
tion, both of animal and vegetable life, as compared with 
the periods preceding — but more especially of the vege- 
tation. The only positive increase was in sea-weeds, 
(fucoides) which expanded in some regions to an enor- 
mous extent. The terrestrial vegtation was represented 
by the resinous pines of the coal, but under circumstances 
unfavorable to the formation of that mineral, though it 
must not be overlooked that both anthracite and plumbago 
are often found in small detached seams and deposits in 
these rocks. All the other varieties which distinguished 
the coal period, as Lepidodendria, Sigillaria, Stigmaria, 
and the Equiseta, had wholly disappeared, and mere traces 
of calamites, cycadea, palms, ferns, and mosses are to be 
found in them. Of the Radiata there was also a great 
decrease ; but the Mollusca were tolerably well represented. 
The Articulata were represented sparingly by serpula and 
scorpions, trilobites and macrocus, but no annelides or 
insects proper. Of the vertebrata, fishes were somewhat 
numerous, as well as sauroid animals of a peculiar type. 

In 1834, an account was published in Europe of some 
remarkable fossil footmarks in the new red sandstone, at 
Hessberg, in Saxony. Accounts of these impressions 
have been given by Drs. Hohnbaum and Sickler, Prof. 
Kaup, Mons. Link, and the late Baron Humboldt. The 
largest track was supposed to have been made by a mar- 
supial animal, whose hind foot was eight inches long. 
This animal. Prof. Kaup named C heir other ium, from the 
resemblance of its track to a human hand. Some of the 
tracks appear to have been made by tortoises ; and M. 
Link, who has made out four distinct species from the 
tracks, suggests that some of them may have been made 



244 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

by gigantic Batracians — frogs, salamanders, etc.* Mr. 
Owen has suggested that the tracks referred to the 
Cheirotherium, were made by a gigantic Batracian, or 
frog, whose hind feet were much larger than his fore feet. 
He has given an ideal sketch of the animal restored, the 
bones of whose head only have been discovered, and of 
the manner in which the tracks might have been made. 
Prof. Hitchcock differs Avith Mr. Owen, and thinks the 
tracks are those of a marsupial, whose hind legs are con- 
siderably longer than those in front. In 184*7, Prof. 
Plieninger, of Stuttgart, published a description of two 
fossil molar teeth, referred by him to a warm-blooded 
quadruped, which he obtained from a bone-breccia in 
Wurtemberg, occurring in the upper beds of the new red 
sandstone, in Germany called Keuper. These beds are 
1,000 feet thick, and comprise sandstones, gypsums, and 
carbonaceous slate-clay. Bemains of Reptiles, called 
Nothosaurus and Fkytosaurus have been found in it with 
the fragmentary bones of Owen's Lahyrinthodon ; also 
detached teeth of placoid fish and of rays. Froiji the 
double fangs of the tooth found by Plieninger, and their 
unequal size, and from the number of the protuberances 
or cusps on the flat crowns, he inferred that it was the 
molar of a Mammifer, and considering it as pi»edaceous, 
probably insectivorous, he named the supposed animal 
Ilicrolestes, (a little beast of prey). Previous to this 
discovery of the German Professor, the most ancient of 
known mammalia were those of the English Stonesfield 
slate, a ^subdivision of the lower oolite. In the dolomitic 
conglomerates of England, remains of two distinct genera 
of reptiles have been found, called Thecodontosaurus and 
Palaeosaurus, the teeth of which are conical, compressed, 
and with finely serrated edges. These saurians, (which, 

Buckland, Bridgewater Treatise. 



FOOTPRINTS IN OLD RED SANDSTONE. 245 

until tlie discovery of the Archegosaurus in the coal, were 
regarded as the most ancient examples of fossil reptiles,) 
are all distinguished by having the teeth implanted in the 
jaw-bone, and in distinct sockets, instead of being soldered, 
as in frogs, to a simple alveolar parapet. Both these 
families occur in the Trias of Germany. In 1844, the first 
skeleton of a true reptile was found in the coal measures 
of Munster-Appel, in Rhenish Bavaria, and described by 
H. von Meyer, under the name of Apateon pedestris, the 
animal being regarded as nearly related to the salaman- 
ders. In 1847, Prof. Yon Dechen found in the coal-field 
of Saarbi-uck, the skeletons of three distinct species of 
air-h7^eaihing reptiles, which were described by Prof. 
Goldfuss, under the generic name of Archegosaurus. 
They were considered by Goldfuss as saurians, but by 
Yon Meyer as allied to the Labyrinihodon, and therefore 
connected with the batracians, as well as the lizards. In 
1844, the very year that Yon Meyer introduced his 
Apateon or salamander, Dr. King published an account 
of the foot-prints of a large reptile discovered by him in 
the coal measures near Greensburg, in Westmorland 
county, Pennsylvania. These footprints were examined 
by Prof Lyell, while on a visit to this State, in 1846. 
" I was at once convinced of their genuineness," says the 
distinguished geologist, "and declared my conviction on 
that point, on which doubts had been entertained both in 
Europe and the United States. The footmarks were first 
observed standing out Tn relief from the lower surface of 
.slabs of sandstone, resting on thin layers of fine unctuous 
clay. I brought away one of these masses. It displays, 
together with footprints, the casts of cracks of various 
sizes. The origin of such cracks in clay, and casts of the 
same, has before been explained, and referred to the dry- 
ing and shrinking of mud, and the subsequent pouring of 
sand into open crevices. Some of the cracks traverse the 



246 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

footprints, and produce distortion in them, as might have 
been expected, for the mud must have been soft when the 
animal walked over it and left the impressions ; whereas, 
when it afterward dried up and shrank, it would be too 
hard to receive such indentations.* ^N'o less than twenty- 
three footsteps were observed by Dr. King in the same 
quarry before it was abandoned, the greater part of them 
so arranged on the surface of one stratum as to imply that 
they were made successively by the same animal. Every- 
where there was a double row of tracks, and in each row 
they occur in pairs, each pair consisting of a hind and 
fore foot, and each being at nearly equal distances from 
the next pair. In each parallel row, the toes turn, the 
one set to the right, the other to the left. In the Euro- 
pean Cheirotherium (before mentioned) both the hind and 
the fore feet have each five toes, and the size of the hind 
foot is about five times as large as the fore foot. In the 
American fossil, the posterior footprint is not even twice 
as large as the anterior, and the number of toes is unequal, 
being five in the hinder, and four in the anterior foot. 
The American Gheirothey^ium was evidently a broader 
animal, and belonged to a distinct genus from that of the 
triassic (new red sandstone) age in Europe. We may 
assume that the reptile which left these prints on the 
ancient sands of the coal measures, was an air-breather, 
because its weight would not have been sufficient under 
water to have made impressions so deep and distinct. 
The same conclusion is also borne out by the cracks of 
the air and the sun, so as to have dried and shrunk. " 

These curious discoveries of Dr. King were followed, 
in 1849, by the discovery of similar footprints in the old 
red sandstone near Pottsville, outside of the Schuylkill 
coal basin, by Isaac Lea, Esq., of Philadelphia, who read 

• Sir Charles Lyell, Elements of Geology, p. 337. 



MR. lea's discovery OP FOOTPRINTS 247 

a paper on the subject to the American Philosophical 
Society, in June, 1849. Mr. Lea has since published a 
description of the footprints in magniJScent form, illus- 
trated with beautifully-colored lithographs of the tracks, 
iu their natural size. From this description I glean the 
annexed particulars : 

"The position of the footprints was on the west side of the turnpike 
road, about a mile southeast of the town of Pottsville, and a few hundred 
feet below the Mount Carbon Hotel. The massive sandstone rocks here 
are of a beautiful red color and fine texture, evidently formed of sand and 
clay which has passed through much attrition. The color is due to a con- 
siderable charge of the red oxyd of iron. Minute spangles of mica are 
generally interspersed throughout these rocks, and assist in giving the 
surface of the fractures a soft and almost satin-like texture. The strata 
here are tilted somewhat over the perpendicular, by the upheaval of this 
range of mountains; but the surfaces which are exposed bear evidence of 
these sedimentary rocks having been deposited in a nearly horizontal 
position, and in a placid state of water, presenting to the animal a very 
slightly inclined shore, as it advanced from the waters which existed on 
the northern side. The impressions made at that time were upon the 
sands of a shore from which the waters had for a time receded, having 
left the shore covered with well-defined * riiyple inarlcs,' and a pro- 
fusion of 'raiu drop pits.' The surface of the rock exposed to view was 
about six feet by twelve, and across the shorter diameter were distinctly 
and beautifully impressed a double row of tracks, consisting of six im- 
pressions, duplicated by the hind foot falling into the impression of the 
fore foot, but a little more in advance. The specimen taken from the 
mass of the rock was thirty-four by twenty-one inches. The six double 
impressions show, in the two parallel rows, formed by the left feet on the 
one side, and the right feet on the other, that the animal had five toes on 
the fore foot, three of which toes were apparently armed with unguical 
appendages. The bind feet appear to have had four toes. The impres- 
sions of the hind feet being made nearly on the same spot as that of the 
fore feet, cause some obliteration and confusion, as well as variatioJi in 
size and form of footmarks. The best defined one is four and a half inches 
long and four broad — this is including the double impression. The single 
foot would probably measure three and a half inches long by three inches 
broad. The stride or step of the animal measures, from toe to toe, thir- 
teen inches; from outside to outside the distance is eight inches. The 
mark of tho tail is distinctly impressed, causing a groove-like furrow over 
the top of each ripple line, oblique to their direction, and generally five to 



248 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

six inches long and three-quarters of an inch wide. There are four of 
these tail-marks or grooves on as many ripple lines, the crests of which 
lines are elevated about half an inch above the intermediate depressions. 
The tail was evidently not a thick one, and the animal must have had a 
distinct and perfect step, and not a half-swimming motion, as in the 
crocodilian?, there being no trace of the dragging of the feet. The tail 
must have been considerably elevated, as the alternate tail-impressions 
show that a vibration actually took place at every step, the four grooves 
not being in a direct line, but each one approaching its nearest footmark 
to the right or the left, alternately, and therefore never precisely on the 
Central line between the two rows of the footmarks. Theee facts prove 
that the animal which left its imprint in this ancient sandstone stood 
much higher on its legs than the Crocodilus or the Monitor, and probably 
was not so long in proportion to the size of the feet. It is well known 
that the alligator leaves no foot-impression in the mud, but simply a 
large furrow, made by the ventral and caudal proportions. The form 
of the foot impressions is, however, very similar to that which is received 
by the mould in clay of the Alligator Mississippiensis, specimens of which 
are in the collection of the Academy gf Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. 
If an opinion might be hazarded, as regards the probable size of the ani- 
mal, based on this meagre diagnosis, I should suppose it might reach 
as much as seven or eight feet in length. The water, in passing over 
the impressions, left lines indicating its direction. Occasionally may be 
seen small subglobular forms, which may possibly be the ejectamenta 
or coprolites of some of the animals that passed over the shores of these 
waters."* 

The footmarks of Mr. Lea were, only two years after, 
succeeded by a similar discovery in the upper layers of 
the old red sandstone of Morayshire, in Scotland. These 
footprints are in pairs, forming two parallel rows ; and 
sometimes those of the fore and hind feet nearly run into 
each other, as in the case of Mr. Lea's. The hind foot is 
one inch in diameter, and larger than the fore feet in the 
proportion of four to three. Two years after, viz., in 
1851, the fossil skeleton of a reptile was found in the 
same formation and in the same district. The bones had 
decomposed, but the natural position of almost all of them 

♦ Isaac Lea, on the Fossil Footmarks in the Red Sandstone of Potts- 
rille, from Trans. Am. Phil. Soc, vol x. 



FOSSILS, FOOTPRINTS, AND RAIN-DROPS. 249 

could be seen, and nearly perfect casts of them were taken 
from the hollow moulds which they left. The matrix was 
a fine-grained, whitish sandstone, with a cement of car- 
bonate of lime. The skeleton exhibits the general char- 
acters of the Lacertians, blended with peculiarities that 
are Batracian. Hence Dr. Mantell infers that this rep- 
tile was either a fresh- water Batracian or a small. terres- 
trial lizard. The skeleton is about four and a half inches 
in length, but part of the tail is concealed in the rock. 
Dr. Mantell has proposed for it the generic name of Tel- 
erpeton (or afar-off reptile), while the specific name, 
JElgineuse, commemorates the principal place near which 
it was obtained. 

Similar footprints of Chelonian reptiles have been found 
in rocks supposed to be still older than the old red sand- 
stone, on the banks of the St. Lawrence, at Beauharnois, 
in Upper Canada, The rocks, indeed, are supposed to 
belong to the lower Silurian series, but sonie doubt ap- 
pears to exist as to their precise geological position. !N"o 
doubt exists, however, as to their being low^er down or 
older than those of the old red sandstone or Devonian 
system. Prof. Owen intimates that the animal which 
made these foot-impressions was a fresh-water tortoise, 
rather than a land tortoise. Supposing it to have been 
a tortoise, this rock is by far the oldest in which such re- 
mains or signs of that animal have been found. 

I have thus presented, somewhat at length, descriptions 
of the footprints and fossil bones of animals which are 
conceived to be anomalies in nature and in geological 
chronology, and in direct conflict loith the 3Iosaic revela- 
tion. The footprints discovered by Lea and Dr. King are 
supposed to have been made by a quadruped and an air- 
breather, — and its characteristics would consequently be 
ten-estrial rather than aqueous, or perhaps it combined 
some of the features of both. The integrity of the Bible 



250 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

is thus assailed in various ways ; first, in assuming that 
animals of a high ovgomzoiioTi preceded vegetation ; second, 
that land animals existed simultaneously, if not really 
before, aquatic animals ; and thirdly, that the ancient 
climate was not such as Moses describes — for he asserts 
most unequivocally that there was no sun at that time, 
and that " the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon 
the earth, but that there went up a mist which watered 
the whole surface of the ground." The geologists, on the 
other hand, bring forward, with their animal footprints, 
casts of rain-drops, and fissures and fractures in the sand- 
stone, and then proceed, upon the basis thus erected, to 
annihilate all the law and the apostles. In connection 
with the footprints already described. Professor Lyell 
remarks : " Having alluded to the spots left by rain on 
the surface of carboniferous strata in the Alleghanies, on 
which quadrupedal footprints are seen, I may mention 
that similar rain-prints are conspicuous in the coal meas- 
ures of Cape Breton, in Nova Scotia. In such a region, 
if anywhere, might we expect to detect evidence of the 
fall of rain on a sea-beach, so repeatedly must the condi- 
tions of the same era have oscillated between land and 
sea." In 1851, Mr. Richard Brown had the kindness 
to send me some greenish slates from Sydney, Cape 
Breton, on which are imprinted very delicate impressions 
of rain-drops, with several worm-tracks such as usually 
accompany rain-marks on the recent mud of the Bay of 
Fundy, and other modern beaches. The casts of the rain- 
prints project from the under side of two layers, occurring 
at diiferent levels, the one a sandy shale resting on green 
shale, the other a sandstone presenting a similar warty or 
blistered surface, on which are also observable some small 
ridges, which stand out in relief, and afford evidence of 
cracks formed by the shrinkage of subjacent clay, on 



FOOTPRINTS IN OLD EED SANDSTONE. 251 

which rain had fallen. Many of the associated sandstones 
are described by Mr. Brown as ripple-marked." 

" The great humidity of the climate of the coal period," 
continues Sir Charles, " had been previously inferred from 
the nature of its vegetation and the continuity of its for- 
ests for hundreds of miles ; but it is satisfactory to have at 
length obtained such positive proofs of showers of rain, 
the drops of which resembled in their average size those 
which now fall from the clouds. From such data we may 
presume that the atmosphere of the carboniferous period 
corresponded in density with that now investing the 
globe, and that different currents of air varied then as 
now, in temperature, so as to give rise, by their mixture, 
to the condensation of aqueous vapors." The cracks in 
the sandstones containing the foot-marks, Sir Charles 
refers to the effects of the sun, as previously remarked. 

Nearly every work on Geology which has lately come 
under my notice, is embellished with cuts of rain-drops ; 
and those of Prof. Lyell contain some four or five speci- 
mens. 

Now, these fossil footprints, rain-drops, and sun-cracks 
in the old red sandstone, directly impeach the veracity of 
divine revelation, and it will be no sufficient answer to 
the array and combination of evidence brought against 
its integrity by such men as Sir Charles Lyell, Prof. 
Hitchcock, Hugh Miller, Sir R. Murchison, Dr. Mantell, 
Kichardson, and many others, to suggest (as many writers 
professing to defend it, have suggested) that it is not a 
record of scientific fact. The Bible may be scientific, or 
it may not be ; but it professes to tell the truth, and that 
is the reason we believe in it. If geologists prove it to 
be false, our confidence in it must necessari]}'- be weakened; 
for believing, as we do, in its holy inspiration, we regard 
it utterly incapable of mistake or inaccuracy, no matter 
whether the facts embodied in its statements be based on 



252 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

the truths of science or not. Truth is truth. If the 
geologists are correct, then the statements of Moses can- 
not be ; if the Bible be true, then the geologists are all 
deceived. Instead, therefore, of offering plausible excuses 
and evasions, I propse to meet these and similar contra- 
dictions of the Bible fairly, squarely, and boldly ; and if I 
do not turn the insidious daggers thus pointed at the 
Christian community, into the bowels of their authors, it 
will be because my confidence in the Bible has been 
mistaken, and that my faculties of practical inquiry and 
observation have deceived me. 

Now, what are these footprints described by Lea, Lyell, 
and King ? Of the latter I cannot speak with positive 
knowledge, although I have been on the spot ; but as to 
those of Mr. Lea, I have passed the very rocks which 
have yielded his specimens, almost every day for the last 
thirteen years. I am as familiar with those rocks as I am 
with the faces of the people who live in their vicinity. 
Before we can entertain the idea of the tracks having been 
made by a land, or an air-breathing animal — a quadruped 
capable of locomotion, it must first be shown that, 
during the Devonian period, the tracks occupied the 
position of dry land. If they really constituted dry land 
during that period, all the theories proposed by the class 
of geologists to which Mr. Lea appears to belong, are at 
once overturned; for, occurring as they do, half a mile 
from the nearest workable seam of coal, how was it possi- 
ble for the immense layers of sandstone, coarse conglom- 
erate, and arenaceous schist to have been deposited ? Are 
we to suppose that, after the animal had imprinted its 
tracks, there was an instantaneous submergence of the 
land for more than eight hundred miles ? or only a partial 
submergence of fifty or a hundred miles in length ? That 
the whole extent of the sandstone rocks, underlying the 
coal, would have to be thus submerged, if the animal were 



FOOTPRINTS IN OLD RED SANDSTONE. 253 

an inhabitant or frequenter of the land, is perfectly over- 
whelming, because in no other way could the intermediate 
sedimentary rocks have been deposited. If, then, the soft 
mud upon which these tracks were imprinted, had been 
suddenly lowered into the water, or the water as 
suddenly brought over them by a tidal flood, is it not 
miraculous that the movement of the waves — the oscilla- 
tions of vast bodies of excited waters, should not have 
obliterated all traces of the impressions ? Why, the ordi- 
nary ebbing and flowing of a high tide, apart from any 
extraordinary, convulsive movement of the land, would 
alone suffice to wash out any footprints made on the soft 
mud of the shore ! 

Mr. Lea observes that the surface of slabs of sandstone 
immediately adjacent to those which contained the foot- 
marks, reveal ripple -marks, as left by the water. He infers 
from this that the rippled sandstones constituted an 
ancient shore, upon which the fossil reptiles moved. This 
idea is still further supported by finding other slabs, 
including those with the footmarks containing casts of 
rain-drops ; while nearly all the slabs show sun-cracks, 
as if the shore had been exposed to the sun and to showers 
of rain. 

Now, in the first place, I do not regard the so-called 
ripple-marks as such in fact ; and in the next place, if they 
are ripple-marks, it can be shown that they were neces- 
sarily formed under the water, and that, if they afterward 
became a temporary shore, they would have been effaced 
by the withdrawal of the water. Ripple-marks are fur- 
rows ; but those- at Mount Carbon are not. They are 
indentations, running in parallel roivs, and have perhaps 
as valid claim to be considered foot-marks as the obscure 
specimen obtained by Mr. Lea. These indentations are 
on a very hard sandstone — a homogeneous stratum six 
feet thick. Seams of it are unusually arenaceous. Above 



254 THE FIFTH DAT — GEOLOGICAL. 

this stratum there are fissures filled in with soft mud ; and 
it is from this that the foot-marks were obtained. Ripple- 
marks are invariably formed in the eddies or between the 
projecting rocks of rivers and lakes. They are the result 
of obstructions to the channel of the stream, which, hold- 
ing comminuted mud and sand in suspension, precipitate 
it to the bottom wherever the movement of the waters is 
temporarily arrested. Water has precisely the same 
effect upon the soft mud and fine sand thus deposited, that 
the blasts of winter have upon drifted snow. Every gale 
that sweeps over the earth, scoops out the snow, and piles 
it up in irregular wave-like furrows along the fences and 
the way-side. "Water is thus, in many respects, similar 
to the atmosphere we breathe — that is, it is an aqueous 
body, containing currents and eddies, like the air ; all of 
which are caused by the irregularities of the surface over 
which they flow. But when, after scooping out these 
furrows in the bottom, the water recedes and leaves the 
land exposed, its withdrawal, its surging motion, gradually 
levels down the soft materials, and effaces all traces of 
the previous ripples. Therefore I say the ripple-marks, 
if they be such, were produced by and under the water, 
and, instead of affording evidence of dry land, prove ex- 
actly the reverse ; for an hour's exposure of such soft mud 
to the sun and wind would have dried it up, and obliter- 
ated every trace of the ripples. But, it must be borne in 
mind, that these ripple-marks and footprints were obtained 
in a deep valley, where the strata are perpendicular, and 
surrounded on every side by mountains towering eight 
hundred feet above it. If there had been a shore at any 
time, it would consequently have been eight hundred feet 
from the footprints on the summits of the mountains ! 
And besides, the strata, instead of being laminated in 
perfectly straight lines, with regard to each other, would 
have been wedge-shaped, or sloping; but we have no such 



FOOTPRINTS IN OLD RED SANDSTONE. 255 

evidence. On the contrary, the lines of lamination and 
stratification are perfectly parallel, betraying not the 
slightest indication of a previous shore. So much, then, 
for the ripple-marks ; as to the rain-drops and sun-cracks, 
I will consider them presently. In the mean time, we 
shall assume that no dry land appeared here at any time, 
until after the deposition of the coal ; and if this proposi- 
tion be correct, it is perfectly clear that the tracks found 
by Mr. Lea are not those of a terrestrial air-breathing 
quadruped. 

But, supposing that the tracks were really made by an 
animal — (a supposition which, however, can only be enter- 
tained on the basis of the most extraordinary credulity), 
it is still impossible that it could have been an inhabitant 
of the land. It would have required /oo(i — unless, indeed, 
it was so essentially an air-breather that it could live on 
that element alone. If it was an inhabitant of the land, 
upon " what meats did it feed ?" Where was the land 
vegetation to have appeased its hunger ? There is not a 
trace of such vegetation, nor a trace of any mollusc, 
worm, or fish whatever. No human being has ever found 
any thing in that entire formation which could have sus- 
tained animal life ! Even fleas or worms could not have 
found nourishment on the land, had they existed. A few 
poor little specimens of alg« are found in the rocks, but 
they all grew and were buried in the w^ater. There were 
no land plants, whatever. If, therefore, any animal 
existed, it belonged to the water ; and if it made any 
foot-marks, they must have been made under the water. 
Had Mr. Lea combined with his telkiric researches — 
(which, by the way, have been of a highly valuable and 
interesting character in many other departments of science, 
especially that portion relating to the practical geology 
of the coal measures) — had he evinced a taste for the amuse- 
ment of angling, during his summer sojourn at Mount 
17 



256 THE rrFTH day — geological. 

Carbon, I venture to say that his splendid illustrations of 
the footprints of the Sam^opus priniosms would have been 
accompanied by full length portraits of the living de- 
j^cendants of that distinguished Devonian myth. Had he 
taken a rod and line, and wandered along the shaly and 
shady nooks of Tumbling Run, a stream which empties 
into the Schuylkill directly opposite the spot where he 
obtained the foot-tracks, he would have met two gigantic 
dams, erected by the Schu5dkill Navigation Company, to 
hold back supplies of the aqueous fluid, to make up any 
deficiencies which may occur, upon the line of that work, 
during seasons of drought. These dams are from sixty 
to eighty feet in ho'^^ht, and the water thus held back 
makes two very bror.d, deep, and beautiful artificial lakes. 
The water is very clear and pure, and derived from nu- 
merous springs that bubble up their cooling draughts in 
the narrow valley. If Mr. Lea had dropped a line in 
those waters, baited with a crawling, slimy lumhrici 
terrestres, (of the class Annelida, and division Articulata !) 
ten chances to one but that he would have drawn up a 
creature entirely capable of making footmarks such as he 
described, only on a scale somewhat diminished. He 
would, in short, have hauled out a living Sauropus, swim- 
ming in the same pond with trout and eels. 

Assuming the privileges of an original discoverer, I 
will here describe how I came to find this remarkable 
animal. I was rambling along the shores of the Tumb- 
ling Run, taking my usual morning walk (sometimes 
extending ten or fifteen miles around Pottsville), when I 
perceived that the lakes were being drained of their water, 
the summer drought compelling the Navigation Company 
to withdraw the supplies which these great reservoirs 
afford. The escape flume w^as therefore dry, but between 
the irregular stony bottom were several little shallow 
pools of water, in which, as I approached, there wa* ft 



THE SAXTROPUS MODERNIS ! 25T 

great floundering of young trout, as if they were afraid 
that my motives were not honorable. To convince them 
of their error, I drew up my sleeves and gathered them 
out of their little retreats, which the thirsty summer sun 
would have licked up in a/ few hours more, and carefully 
put them back in the lake. While engaged in this benevo- 
lent amusement, my attention was called to the individual 
in question. He was an inhabitant of the water, and 
shared in the accident which, but for my timely arrival, 
would have consigned him with his finny associates, to 
terra firma. He was walking around on the bottom of 
his hydrogenous basin, as if in search of a shelving stone 
or a quiet sequestered nook, in which to retire from the 
more active scenes of aqueous life. His pedestrian quali- 
ties excited my regard. I determined that he too should 
be saved ! But first, I desired an exhibition of his func- 
tions. A twig, introduced in gentle proximity to his 
caudal appendage, had the effect of persuading him to ac- 
celerate his movements, and I found that he was equally 
at home as a swimmer and a pedestrian. Finally, I con- 
verted my handkerchief into a net, and with this safely 
secured him. I then left for my hotel, and after a walk 
of fifteen minutes, reached my sanctum sanctorum, where, 
in a glass jar, I intended him for the post of honor 
among my relics of the Devonian and carboniferous rocks. 
To my astonishment, however, I found that atmospheric 
air did not agree with him; the admixture of oxygen 
with nitrogen did not meet his case so well as oxygen 
combined with hydrogen. In fact, the poor thing was 
dying ; and now I reproached myself for having put too 
much confidence in science. Having been taught by the 
descriptions of the Geologists to regard creatures like him 
as air-breathers, I took it for granted that a little nitrogen 
mixed with oxygen and the vapors of hydrogen, could do 
him no harm, especially during a mere experimental trial 



258 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

of fifteen minutes. But I was deceived. The Sauropus 
Tumbling Bunensinens modernis died I Resquiescat in 
pace, and may he not become a- fossil to haunt and perplex 
the scientific world hereafter ! 

He was a beautiful animal ; — from five to six inches in 
length, of a dark green color, with bright golden or Ver- 
million specks, like those of the trout. The structure of 
the head was somewhat similar to that of the toad, and 
may therefore be denominated batracian. It very much 
resembled the ideal Lahyrintliodon pachygnathus of Prof. 
Owen, except that, unlike that supposititious animal, it 
enjoyed whatever luxury might appertain to a soinewhat 
lengthened caudal appendage. Its fore-feet were furnished 
with four toes, and its hind feet with five. The hind toes, 
like those of the Lahyrinthodon (supposed to represent 
the Gheirotherium,) are about tAvice as large as those in 
front. It bore no resemblance to salamanders, water efts, 
crocodiles, alligators, gechas, chamelions, tortoises, or 
serpents. It appears to have been a species of lizard, 
and answers all the requirements of that supposed to have 
made the footmarks. Its tail was long and sword-like, 
and answered a useful purpose in swimming ; while in 
walking, it swayed from right to left, in the manner de- 
scribed by Mr. Lea. In some respects, it resembled the 
Amblyrynchus cristatus of South America, which is said 
to be the only marine lizard now known. "This marine 
saurian," says Mr. Darwin, '' is extremely common in all 
the islands throughout the Archipelago. It lives exclu- 
sively on the rocky sea-beaches, and I never saw one even 
ten yards in shore. The usual length is about a yard, but 
there are some even four feet long. It is of a dirty black 
color, sluggish in its movements on the land ; but when 
in the water, it swims with perfect ease and quickness by 
a serpentine movement of its body and flattened tail, the 
legs during this time being motionless, and closely col- 



A JEALOUS "PROFESSOR." 259 

lapsed on its sides." The teeth of the Tumbling "Run 
Sauropus modernis are like those of fish — the jaws being 
furnished with plates, on which are warty protuberances, 
such as characterize catfish and eels. 

Prof. Agassiz, at the meeting of the American Scientific 
Association, in 1851, remarked of Mr. Lea's Sauropus foot- 
prints, "that he did not believe they were made by an air- 
breathing animal; he thought they might have been made 
by fish of the ancient type, but he did not believe that 
any air-breathing animal had been found even as low 
down as the New Red Sandstone !" Here is the testi- 
mony of one of the greatest Naturalists of the age, very 
plainly and plumply putting an "extinguisher" on all the 
deductions and assumptions of Geologists as to the charac- 
ter of the animals which imprinted the footmarks. I will 
not say that the Sauropus modernis actually made the 
footprints of Mr. Lea, because I do not believe they were 
made by any animal whatever, either of the air, the land, 
or the water ; but I do assert that the footprints it makes 
exactly answer the description of those of the supposed 
ancient animal ! Beductio ad absurdum / 

Prof. H. D. Rogers, at the same session of the scientific 
body above referred to depreciated the footprints of Mr. Lea, 
by denying that they occurred in the old red sandstone. 
He alleges that the footprints were inside of the coal 
measures, and denied that there was any identity between 
the old red sandstone of America and that of Europe ! 
All this, however, seems to have been evolved in a spirit 
of professional jealousy. He did not like to see Mr. Lea 
reaping glory from a discovery which he, himself, as the 
official geologist of the State, should have made ; there- 
fore, he suggested that the footprints did not occur in the 
Old Red Sandstone at all. " These footprints in the red 
shale formation at Mount Carbon," observes the envious 
professor, " are of an age essentially later than that attri- 



260 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

buted to them ; they occur in a geological horizon only a 

few hundred feet below the conglomerate which marks 
the beginning of the productive coal seams, in which series 
similar footprints, attributed to batrachian reptiles, have 
previously been met with in western Pennsylvania. In- 
stead, therefore, of constituting a record of antique rep- 
tilian life, earlier than any hitherto discovered by at least 
a whole chapter in the geological book, they carry back 
its age only by a single leaf " Mr. Rogers, as if to retrieve 
laurels that should have adorned his illustrious brow alone, 
proceeded to hunt up footprints for himself He searched 
around the old sandstones and conglomerates, and in his 
great Report of the State Survey (great for its enormous 
dimensions, as the celebrated Daniel Lambert was for his 
weight), he remarks that " about five hundred feet lower 
down in the formation, or further south, in the same lo- 
cality, the Geological Survey brought to light another 
species of footprints of much smaller dimensions ; and 
soon afterward two other varieties, etc., etc. He gives a 
very lame description of these footprints ; and adds 
that "considerations of economy have compelled him to 
omit engraving them!" This is very remarkable. Many 
thousands of dollars were appropriated by the State to 
pay for publishing his work — a work executed in Scotland, 
and bearing a Scottish imprint ; yet an engraving, the 
execution of which would certainly not have cost over ten 
or fifteen dollars, could not be afforded ! The engraving 
of " sun -cracks" on the same page, immediately below the 
sentence first quoted, must have cost at least twenty-five 
or thirty dollars, and is of no earthly significance what- 
ever ; yet the footprints, if they be such in fact, cannot 
but be regarded as of extraordinary interest, but are 
altogether omitted from " considerations of economy." If 
Mr. Rogers were sincere — if he, himself, really believed 
in the footprints which he says he discovered in a geo- 



THE PICKWICK CONTROVERSY. 261 

logical zone still lower than that of Mr. Lea, a simple en- 
graving on wood, exhibiting the tracks, would have sufficed. 
Mr. Lea, with a liberality which does him infinite credit, 
has expended large sums to lay before the world, the dis- 
coveries he has made, some of which Mr. Rogers should 
have introduced into his Report, since they appertain to 
Pennsylvania; but to shirk the whole question, upon 
*' considerations of economy," is a reflection upon the 
liberality of the State which has appropriated something 
like a hundred thousand dollars to aid his explorations ; 
besides being personally uncourteous to gentlemen like 
Mr. Lea, who sustain their paleontological researches with 
the most munificent and lavish expenditure. 

But the truth is, that all these foot-prints are too ob- 
scure and unreliable to deserve any consideration for one 
moment. All that we know of the ante-medieval periods of 
Geology, are unfavorable to the existence of land animals, 
or animals of any kind except those occupying the lowest 
scale of organized life. All the speculations of geologists, 
based upon such frail data as these footprints afford, are 
precisely of a character with the great Cobham stone dis- 
covered by Mr. Pickwick. It will be remembered by 
those who have read the history of that remarkable dis- 
covery, what a sensation it produced, — how Mr. Pickwick, 
the immortal discoverer, delivered a lecture before a 
general meeting of the Club, in which he entered into a 
variety of ingenious and erudite speculations on the mean- 
ing of the inscription. " It appears," says Mr. Boz, (the 
worthy editor of the posthumous papers of the Pickwick 
Club,) " it appears that a skillful artist executed a faithful 
delineation of the curiosity, which was engraven on stone 
and presented to the Royal Antiquarian Society, and 
other learned bodies — that heart-burnings and jealousies 
without number were created by rival controversies which 
were penned upon the subject — and that Mr. Pickwick 



262 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

himself wrote a pamphlet containing ninety-six pages of 
very small print, and twenty-seven different readings of 
the inscription. That three old gentlemen cut off their 
eldest sons with a shilling apiece for presuming to doubt 
the antiquity of the fragment — and that one enthusiastic 
individual cut himself off prematurely, in despair at being 
unable to fathom its meaning ! That Mr. Pickwick was 
elected an honorary member of seventeen native and for- 
eign societies, for making the discovery ; that none of the 
seventeen could make any thing of it, but that all the 
seventeen agreed it was very extraordinary ! Mr. Blotton, 
indeed — and the name will be doomed to the undying con- 
tempt of those who cultivate the Mysterious and the 
Sublime — Blotton, we say, with the doubt and caviling 
peculiar to vulgar minds, presumed to state a view of the 
case, as degrading as ridiculous. Mr. Blotton, with a 
mean desire to tarnish the lustre of the immortal name of 
Pickwick, actually undertook a journey to Cobham in 
person, and on his return observed that he had seen the 
man from whom the stone was purchased, — that the man 
presumed the stone to be ancient, but solemnly denied 
the antiquity of the inscription, inasmuch as he repre- 
sented it to have been carved by himself, in an idle 
mood," etc., etc. Hereupon followed a new controversy. 
Blotton, it will be remembered, wrote a pamphlet, giving 
his interpretation of the inscription, copies of which he 
addressed to the seventeen learned societies. The virtu- 
ous indignation of the seventeen learned societies being 
aroused, " several fresh pamphlets appeared ; the foreign 
learned societies corresponded with the native learned 
societitys, . -^ the native learned societies translated tlie 
pamphlets vf the foreign learned societies into English, — 
the foreign \oarped societies translated the pamphlets of 
the native Teaiacd societies into all sorts of languages : 
and thus commenced that celebrated Scientific Discus- 



RAIN-DROPS ACCOUNTED FOR. 263 

sion, so well known to all men as tlie Pichwick Contro- 
versy /" 

But, before we leave tlie Footprint Controversy (which 
has already surpassed the great Pickwick Controversy), 
we must say a few words in relation to the rain-drops 
and the sun-cracks. These are said to occur side by side 
with the footmarks, but are frequently found isolated. 
Xow, in the face of all the learned societies and professors, 
I say no such thing as rain-drops exist in the Devonian 
rocks ! The whole thing is a mistake — an absurd and 
ridiculous illusion. 

The so-called rain -drops were produced on the slabs 
after the elevation of the mountains in which thd strata 
are imbedded. When the laminated and stratified rocks 
were upheaved, and set on their edges, like shingles, they 
gradually contracted on cooling, while the disturbances 
occasioned by their uplifting, fractured them internally 
and externally. As the seams of rock parted, the surface 
water of the mountains, charged with fine mud and sand, 
percolated through them, and gradually filled up the cre- 
vices and cracks. In some cases, the percolation of the 
water, charged with sediment, was slow, and it would 
trickle down the smooth sides of the slabs in drops, one 
after the other. The earthy material thus held in suspen- 
sion would be deposited, while the water itself was 
evaporated. In time, the surfaces of rocks thus ramified 
with cleaved laminae, would become coated with little 
warts or protuberances, of the same clayey nature as the 
rocks themselves. In this manner stalactites are gradually 
formed in caverns. Wherever the rocks are calcareous, 
the warts and stalactites are calcareous; wherever they 
are aluminous, the "rain-drops" ar& aluminous. These 
so-called rain-drops are being formed every day. I ob- 
serve them everywhere in my rambles among the rocks. 
Icicles in winter afford another illustration. Drop after 



264 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

drop accumulates on the cornices of houses, or upon the 
limbs of trees. If the water contained soft, plastic mud 
in solution, every drop would leave behind a small amount 
of sediment, which, by the slow succession of drops, 
would finally accumulate into protuberances varying in 
size from a pin's head to an ordinary rifle ball. The 
cracks and fissures attributed to the sun were produced 
partly by the original disturbance which changed the po- 
sition of the strata ; partly by the immediate action of the 
elevating heat ; and afterward by the contraction of the 
strata in the process of cooling. These cracks were after- 
ward filled up by surface drainage, and when this happened 
to introduce different earthy materials from that composing 
the rocks, the cracks themselves will exhibit the fact. 
Many of them are filled in with quartz crystals, and these 
are being constantly elaborated by supplies of water cir- 
culating through their labyrinthine crevices and laminae. 
It is hardly possible to break a piece of laminated red 
shale or sandstone, without finding in it the traces of sur- 
face drainage. 

But a moment's reflection would satisfy any man of 
common sense and observation, that it would be utterly 
impossible for rain-drops to accumulate and be preserved 
on the rocks in the manner suggested by Lyell and his 
cotemporary geologists. If they fell upon a sandy or 
clayey shore, they could make no impression on the ground, 
for the reason that the succession of drops is too rapid, 
and occur in too great a profusion. The impression of 
one would be effaced by another ; while, after the rain 
had ceased, the surface of the mud would be so saturated 
with the rain, so perfectly liquefied, that no impression 
could by any possibility remain. Besides, if the sun had 
been hot enough to crack the ground, it would have ab- 
sorbed the rain-drops immediately. The whole idea is 
the most absurd that I have ever encountered in the entire 



SUN-CRACKS AND RAIN-DROPS EXPLAINED. 265 

records of geology. Although, as I remarked before, all 
Geologists exhibit engravings of these rain-drops, no one 
has ventured to surmise how they were fossilized. It was 
sufficient for one man to say that they were rain-drops, 
without assigning any reason for it, and then all the 
others blindly adopt his opinions. The prefix of " Sir," 
or " Doctor," or " Professor" to a man's name, gives con- 
fidence to those who have no independence or capacity to 
think or examine for themselves ; and hence the common 
sense of the age is borne down with the most consummate 
trash, under the guise of science, that could possibly be 
conceived. 

I have in my collection many specimens of these so- 
called rain-drops, as obtained from different formations. 
I have found them in the body of the coal veins, and in- 
crusting the sides of their stratified benches or walls. 
These often occur in flattened drops, because the crack 
was too narrow to admit of the full expansion of the round 
or spherical form of the drops, w^hile the earthy matter 
left behind is correspondingly flattened, as a shot would 
be if compressed between iron plates. Those in the coal, 
as might readily be inferred, are composed of sulphur and 
iron, and present a bronze-like color. In the slates by the 
side of the coal veins, the rain-drops are irregular in size, 
varying from a pin's head to buck-shot. Like those of the 
coal, they also consist of sulphur and iron. Having been 
deposited by water which held these ingredients in solution, 
in trickling through the fissures of the coal, the sulphur 
has eaten holes in the slates, as might readily be conceived. 
These holes were originally filled with the sulphuret of 
iron (pyrites), but some of the balls have since fallen out. 
Now, that these balls and cavities should have been pro- 
duced by showers of rain, would indicate a meteorological 
phenomenon, even greater than the footprints — for it 
shows that, if they were thus formed, there was a time when 



266 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

the earth rained down sulphuric acid ! The rain-drops in 
limestone regions, would also indicate that the atmosphere 
at another, or perhaps the same time, and in the same 
vicinity, rained down showers of carbonic acid. Yet Sir 
Charles Lyell, and the author of the Yestiges of Creation, 
both remark that such rain-drops even show the "direction 
in which the showers came /" 

It is absolutely sickening to me to dwell longer on this 
branch of the subject ! I blush for the credulity and stu- 
pidity of a world that can swallow such absurdities, when 
their sole object and unavoidable tendency is to under- 
mine, and bring into contempt, the holy word of the 
great Jehovah ! But, alas ! Ce monde est plein de fous! 
Must it ever be so — ^must it always be deceived by its 
philosophy — its " science falsely so-called "? Are we never 
to have an age of common sense, when reason and experi- 
ence can be heard without a resort to the subtilties of 
classic verbiage and labyrinthine technicality ? Disrobe 
Science of the unmeaning tautology that surrounds it, and 
what is it but the expressed idea of the laws of the 
Creator, ready to teach in plain English, as well as in 
bad Greek and Latin ? Many of its recognized votaries 
and expounders are the mere peddlers in words — phrase- 
ology ; inventors of classification ; discoverers of Cobham 
relics — footprints — old teeth and bones ! Let men come 
forward who observe, and let us hear what they have 
learned, not merely in books, but in the fields and among 
the rocks — in the mountains and in the valleys. But, 
for heaven's sake, let us hear no more of fossil footmarks, 
until the rocks favor us with the fossil bones of the 
animals that made 'em, so that we may at least learn — 

" Whether the suake that made the track, 
Was going south, or coming back !" 

We happen to have higher and older authority than the 



FOSSILS, FOOTPRINTS, AND RAIN-DROPS. 267 

geologists to believe, as we have previously premised, that 
during the Devonian and coal periods, even if the land 
had been exposed as indicated, there was no sun to crack 
and parch the crust, nor yet showers of rain to leave behind 
the petrifaction of their fluid-drops. And in reference to 
aqueous animals, Moses says nothing to contradict the 
belief in their existence ; but on the contrary, leads us to 
infer that they did exist. For after the production of the 
coal, and the permanent establishment of the solar influence, 
he commands the '' waters to bring forth abundantly the 
moving creature that hath life, and io fill the seas,^^ there- 
by leaving us free to infer that they may have previously 
existed, but in somewhat sparing numbers. 

Besides the Cheirotherium footsteps in the new red 
sandstone, these strata were also distinguished by a family 
of monsters called Ichthyosaurus, half- fish and half-reptile, 
which, although living in water, breathed the air, and sub- 
sisted mainly on the smaller animals of the seas they inhab- 
ited. The Plesiosaurus was equally gigantic, and perhaps 
even more remarkable — having had a neck twice as long as 
its body, the head of a lizard, the teeth of a crocodile, the 
extremities and paddles of a whale, the ribs of a chame- 
leon, and the trunk of a quadruped. The Megalosaurus 
was a gigantic lizard, which occasionally frequented the 
land. The Pterodactyle was also a huge lizard, but, by 
means of wings, was enabled, to some extent, to fly through 
the air, and thus to dart down upon its prey. Tortoises, 
toads, and crocodiles, of great dimensions, prevailed very 
extensively in this era ; and it may be said of all the mon- 
sters that lived during this time, that while they each com- 
bined some of the features of fish with those of tor- 
toises, reptiles, whales, and birds, they yet partook of none 
of the distinctive characteristics of any. They were indeed, 
neither fish, flesh, nor fowl ; but a singular combination of all. 
They thus constitute a class of thems-^lves, diff'erent alike 



268 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

from the preceding, and those of the subsequent eras. 
The whole of these strata having been deposited under 
water, (and generally under the sea,) and there being no 
remains of land animals, properly so understood, we are 
entitled to infer with Prof. Agassiz, that none had yet ap- 
peared on the earth ; unless, indeed, we regard birds as 
such. But all the tortoises, lizards, toads, and other 
reptiles that flourished at this time, were properly aqueous, 
although all of them may have occasionally wandered 
on shore, or been abandoned there through their own 
negligence, by means of sudden withdrawals of the tides, 
or similar causes. Under these circumstances, it is pro- 
bable that they made the best use of their pedal extremities 
which the novelty of their situation required ; and instead 
of swimming, they learned to crawl or walk. In this 
way we may account for some of the foot-tracks discovered 
in the new red sandstone, because the fossil skeletons of 
the animals that seem to have made them, are found in 
the same rocks. In the new red sandstone of Connecti- 
cut, the foot-tracks of birds occur in great abundance, 
along with these of toads, tortoises, and lizards. That 
they are really the tracks of birds, seems to be generally 
admitted. Unlike other tracks in the lower measures, 
they occur very extensively, and have been found in ex- 
traordinary abundance in no less than sixteen different 
places. The animals that made them, would appear to 
have belonged to the order Grallalores, or waders, and 
some of them were of gigantic size — even exceeding the 
racing ostrich of the desert, or the extinct denornis and 
apteris of New Zealand, whose fossil bones show that 
tliey stood from seven to twelve feet in height. These 
gigantic waders wandered along the shallow estuaries in 
search of food, or some of them may have skimmed the 
air, from one island to another. The. land, which was 
then con Stan tty rising, was no doubt always strewn with 



THE SECONDARY FORMATION. 2*^9 

the spoils of the sea ; and this would not fail to tempt the 
fowls to the shore, while its mud was yet soft, but rapidly 
drying under the effects of the sun that, since the fourth 
day, had now emerged in new-made brilliance — hence the 
impressions of their feet on arenaceous mud that has since 
become indurated. 

It may seem strange that God should have introduced 
marine animals and birds at the same time, and reserved 
mammalia for a subsequent era. But when we reflect 
that, by means of birds, he caused the seeds of vegetation 
to be scattered over the earth, as the dry land continued 
to emerge, the reason is rendered sufficiently obvious. 
The vegetation of the coal period was not adajiitid to 
animals. No animal is known to feed on the foliage of 
pine-trees, impregnated as it is with resinous and sticky 
juices. But, after that period, nevj species of trees and 
vegetables ivere introduced, and birds were then created to 
scatter the seeds over the earth, so that when the higher 
order of animals should appear, they might find the means 
of sustenance. 

Prof. Hitchcock has devoted much attention to the 
investigation of the footmarks in the new red sandstone 
of Connecticut ; but his enthusiasm seems to have carried 
him a little beyond the line of the practical. He has di- 
vided his footmarks into some fifty species, and upon the 
merest assumptions of their order and genera, has pro- 
ceeded to assign names to the individuals who, unable to 
appear in person, have obligingly left behind their foot- 
marks "on the sands of time," Moved by what we 
cannot but regard as a silly-mania for mere names, the 
professor very properly styles his first order Sillimanium; 
the next, (with perhaps more truth than the name itself 
might imply), he calls Zi/eZ^mnus; in' a similar mood, he 
styles another otozoum Moodii ; while other individuals 
or species are named Danai; as, Baileyanus, Emmonsianus, 



2tO the fifth day — GEOLOGICAL. 

Adamsanus, Deweyanus, etc. Thus, all these distin- 
guished gentlemen are complimented with anuses. It has 
long been suspected that professional Geologists have a 
Mutual Admiration Society, one of the main objects of 
which would seem to be the invention of nomenclature 
for all sorts of unknown animals, by means of which their 
own names may be transmitted to admiring posterity. 
The propriety of this scheme may be justly questioned ; 
for the expediency of naming animals wholly unknown, 
and which may in fact never have existed, except in 
imagination, cannot be perceived. It was a prudent ad- 
monition of a plain farmer to his son, never to attempt 
the numerical solution of Rasores in gestation until they 
could be resolved ab ovof or, rather in plainer English, 
"Never count chickens until they are hatched!" Our 
geologists, however, being a little more scientific, follow 
the instructions of the Dutch burgomeister in the play, 
when in pursuit of a criminal: ''First," said he to his 
policemen, " first, imprison him ; secondly, arrest him ; 
and thirdly, "be sure to catcJi him V^ But, granting the 
occasional expediency of temporary names to distinguish 
anknown and extinct animals, the propriety of borrowing 
those of distinguished individuals is certainly not without 
objection. We can readily suppose (as a friend has sug- 
gested), a meritorious member of the Mutual Admiration 
Association, with the Celtic appellation of O^Alinmy. 
Now, if Professor Hitchcock (who is such an adept in 
names) wished to compliment Professor O'Alinmy, by 
bestowing Ms name upon one of these bird-tracks, the 
species would be known as O^AU-in-my-i, and this, 
it is very obvious, would have a disparaging effect 
upon the poor birds, in the estimation of the vulgar 
mind ! 

The class of birds is well defined. Warm-blooded, they 
all breathe the air not only by lungs, but also by means 



THE SECONDARY FORMATION. 2tl 

of auxiliary air-sacs, as well in some measure by their 
very bones, the internal cavities of which are propor- 
tionally larger than those of other animals, and are usually 
filled with air instead of marrow. The class comprises 
seven principal order : Baptores, or birds of prey ; Inces- 
wres, or perchers ; Scansores, or climbers ; Basores, or 
Bcratchers ; Cursores, or runners ; Grallatores, or waders ; 
and Natatores, or swimmers. The fossil remains of birds 
are very scarce in the older formations, but occur in very 
great abundance in the Tertiary formation. 

The fishes comprise a very numerous and diversified 
class of tlie vcrbctrate animals. They are divided into 
four leading orders, as the Placoid, Ganoid, Ctenoid, and 
Cycloid, each of which branches out into a large number 
of families, genera, and species. The ancient fishes, as we 
shall presently show, were different in their organization 
from those now living — having been allied, in some mea- 
sure, to the subsequent class of reptiles. 

The Reptiles, like the fishes, also comprise four orders, 
styled respectively the Chelonians, or tortoises ; the Sau- 
rians, or lizards; the Ophidians, or serpents, and the 
Batrachians, or toads and Salamanders. Nearly all these 
animals (the footmarks to the contrary notwithstanding), 
appear to have been introduced, for the first time, in the 
strata of the Secondary formation — the formation which 
we are now discussing. They appeared, as we have 
shown, in the new red sandstone, but flourished more 
abundantly in the Oolite. And the fact is not without 
significance ; for as the arterial blood of all reptiles is in- 
variably mixed with a proportion of venous blood, the 
temperature of their bodies is nearly that of the surround- 
ing atmospheric medium. Their organic functions are 
thus much influenced by atmospheric changes, and when 
the temperature falls to 40° or 50°, it almost invariablj 

terminates their lives. Hence this fact has an important 

13 



2Y2 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL 

bearing on the climaterial properties of the ancient earth — 
nearly all the theories of which contemplate a warm, humid, 
and nearly a universal temperature. 

It has been shown, too, that the bone cells of reptiles, 
birds, and fish, have forms and dimensions peculiar to 
each; and that while changes in their general and specific 
forms have constantly occurred, from one era to another, 
none can be detected in the organization of the bones them- 
selves, which are peculiar to each class. The bone-cells 
of Mammalia, according to Mr. Quicket's investigations, 
average about one-two-thousandths of an inch, and if we 
adopt this as a standard of comparison, it is found that 
the bone-cells of birds will fall below, and those of reptiles 
will far exceed it ; while those of fishes are so entirely 
different from mammals, birds, and reptiles, both in shape 
and size, that they cannot be mistaken for either. By the 
aid of the microscope, we are thus enabled to show that 
the physiological laws relating to the structure and growth 
of bone have ever been the same from the first creation 
of vertebrate animals in the far remote period, when sau- 
rian fishes were introduced into the seas of the Silurian 
eras, down to the present hour ; that the colossal Iguano- 
don was provided with bone-cells formed after the same 
type as the tiny hzard that crosses our path ; that the 
bones of the gigantic Dinornis exhibit no difference in 
structure from those of its representive, the Apteryx ; that 
the bones of the Mastodon and Megatherium — those ter- 
restrial giants of the pre-Adamite earth — are modeled 
after the type which we see in our domestic quadrupeds, 
and in man himself 

Immediately above the new red sandstone there are 
several layers of clay, limestone, marl, and shale, of an 
aggregate thickness varying from six hundred to one 
thousand feet, which has been named in England the lAas 
group. It forms the base of the oolite rocks, and some- 



LTASSIC AND OOLITIC STRATA. 2T3 

times gradually passes into them. The strata are inter- 
mixed, as well as separate ; but all of them are prolific in 
the remains and shells of marine animals, as well as of the 
huge reptiles already referred to. Many of the crusta- 
ceans are special to this group ; while an important 
change occurred in the structure of the fish. Those of the 
previous eras were somewhat allied to the saurian animals 
in their anatomical structure, but they now began to as- 
sume the distinctive features which characterize those of 
the present age. The change of anatomy and physiologi- 
cal character, while it constantly proceeds in the animal 
and vegetable creations of the earth, as we ascend from 
one geological period to another, was not regulated by 
a perceptible transition from species to species ; but was 
invariably direct and specific. The creatures, therefore, 
that flourished in one period were peculiar to that period ; 
and, if they appeared afterward, still preserved their an- 
cient structure. The crustaceans of the Silurians and 
Devonians occur to a greater or less extent in all the sub- 
sequent formations : but they remain unchanged to the 
present moment. The change, whenever it occurs, is in 
the introduction of new species, and the extinction of 
former ones, or their temporary absence in intermediate 
strata. The idea of progressive development, or gradual 
transition from a low to a higher order of animal and 
vegetable life, as proposed by the author of the Vestiges 
of Creation, and seemingly sanctioned by Mr. Darwin, in 
his recent work on the Origin of Species, is, therefore, 
erroneous and untenable. There is no such thing in the 
whole history of the creation. On the contrary, every 
period is, more or less, a specialty, and is sometimes 
wholly obliterated by those great convulsions which, at 
different times, visited every portion of the globe. It was 
this alternate repose and convulsion that shifted animal 
life from period to period, and thus produced the new 



2T4 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

forms which we notice in them. Had the creatures of 
the earth, during these convulsions, been placed in one 
spot, they would have been destroyed over and over 
again ; but it was happily so arranged that their destruc- 
tion in one locality would afterward be compensated by 
an influx from another. It is this alternating change in, 
and during the great creative days, that has led the author 
of the Vestiges astray. He can find no animal at all re- 
sembling man until the sixth day. He can find no true 
land animal, of any kind, until that day. He can find no 
bird or any of the huge monsters that distinguish the fifth 
day, in any of those preceding. Whatever development 
there is in nature, is the development of creative law 
alone, as pointed out by Moses — the development of pro- 
gressive days or geological formations : — not the gradual 
development which traces a worm into a serpent, thence 
into a quadruped, and finally into man. Yet such is the 
disposition to receive and respect the most absurd and 
wildest philosophical theories, when presented under the 
fascinating exterior of scientific verbiage, that this work 
attained unprecedented popularity, and left the door wide 
open for visionary speculation and specious infidelity. 

After the Lias, we have a group which is very exten- 
sively developed in England, and some other portions of 
Europe, and there called the Jurassic or Oolite. The 
name of Oolite has been bestowed in conseguence of the 
resemblance which one of its principal limestone layers 
presents to the roe of a fish, or to clusters of small eggs. 
The group, however, comprises ten or twelve seams of 
different kinds of rock and earth, as sand, clay, marble, 
slate, and oolites of various kinds. These layers have been 
divided, with the usual hair-splitting nicety of Geologists, 
into upper, middle, and lower divisions. The whole is of 
marine origin, and abounds in fossils. The sea still pro- 
duced its rank weeds in great abundance ; but a change 



ANIMALS UF THE OOLITE. 275 

was taking place in the vegetation of the land. Almost 
all the species which distinguished the coal had disap- 
peaied, and there was a sudden and extraordinary devc- 
lopuient of species allied to existing willows, poplars, 
sycamores, and elms, with but comparatively few ferns 
and resinous pines. In France, so rich are these rocks in 
corals and shell animals, that the celebrated D'Orbigny 
collected over four thousand species belonging to the fami- 
lies of Radiata and Mollusca. In view of their extraordi- 
nary variety, it would be useless to encumber our pages 
with particulars. The articulated animals, however, were 
comparatively scarce, unless w^e except those of insects, 
scorpions, and spiders. These were more numerous than 
ever before ; though it may be well to observe that some 
writers, and among them the author of the Vestiges of 
Creation, speak of them as appearing in this era for the 
first time. And the author of the Vestiges does not stop 
with the simple announcement of the fact, but, as usual, 
proceeds to comment and to speculate upon it. Every 
little incident is turned to practical account, and made to 
s'voll the current leading to the theory of progressive 
vr..' r,al development. With this view he observes: ''It is 
remarkable that the remains of insects are found most 
plentifully near the remain-! of pterodacfyles, to which un- 
doubtedly they served '^s prey." According to strict prin- 
ciples of logic, the very converse of this proposition ought 
to hold good. If insects served as food for the flying 
Saurian, they ought to be scarce wherever that animal is 
found ; but their occurring plentifully is prima facie 
evidence that his depredations could not have been se- 
rious. But it is unfortunate for the development hypo- 
thesis in this instance, that some of tiiese minute animals 
existed previously, and long before the pterodactyles 
made their appearance ! 

But to resume : The vertebral animals were also but 



2T6 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

sparsely represented in the Oolite, except, as in the Lias, 
by the prevailing saurians. These, however, increased 
immensely, both in number and form, and constitute the 
leading feature of the fauna of this period, if not, indeed, 
of the entire Secondary Formation. The change before 
noticed in the structure of the fish, had now become uni- 
versal, or nearly so. Formerly, the vertebral column of 
all fish extended into the upper lobe of the tail, as it does 
in the shark ; but from the Lias onward, this column ter- 
minated into a bilobe, or into two branches of the fin (or 
before it reached the fin), and so continues in nearly all 
the species now existing. There were other minor differ- 
ences peculiar to species ; but the change here noticed was 
universal, with but a few exceptions. 

Geologists have indulged in a great deal of speculation 
in reference to certain detached bones found in the rocks 
belonging to this group. First, a large and curious bone 
from the main Oolite was produced, which the celebrated 
Cuvier pronounced to Be the ulna of a whale ; but which 
Mr. Owen, an anatomist of hardly less pretension, referred 
to a species of saurian animal. Second, in the Stonesfield 
slate of the same group of rocks, large numbers of the 
lower jaws of mammiferous quadrupeds have been found, 
belonging to three species and two genera, for which the 
names of Amphitherium and Phascolotherium have been 
adopted. Cuvier pronounced one of these specimens to 
belong to a small ferine mammal, the jaw of which resem- 
bled that of our opossum, but differing from existing 
genera by having a greater number of molar teeth. The 
first specimens found had ten such teetfh in a row ; but 
others, found some years after, had sixteen in a row, of 
which twelve were molars. The question was raised, 
whether this fossil belonged to a mammifer, a reptile, or 
a fish ; and although a great diversity of opinion existed 
among comparative anatomists, the geologists appear to 



ANIMALS OF THE OOLITE. 2Y7 

]i:^v!^ .•ottlcd tlic dispute among themselves, and estab- 
lished the bones as belonging to land ammals of the 
marsupial order of mammalia. The specimens of Phas- 
colotherium, with scarcely less exemption from doubt and 
obscurity, are also elevated to the rank of pouched ani- 
mals. While the geologists reason or speculate themselves 
toward this conclusion, they throw the ulna of the whale, 
previously discovered, overboard, or degrade it to the 
level of the reptilian species. 

The changes of opinion, in reference to these fossils, have 
been made in the face of previously-expressed views, but 
evidently without sufficient ground to support them. 
The bones are as mysterious as they were before ; com- 
parative anatomists are still disagreed. Yet, upon the 
mere supposition of a geologist that they may have 
belonged to a humble species of the marsupial order, other 
geologists, who never saw the specimens, rank them as 
such ; and thus, in time, by common consent, they are 
established, until a new discovery, or the scrutiny of an 
original investigator elicits their true nature. 

Notwithstanding the supposed marsupial and placental 
character of these specimens, in speculating upon the 
absence of land quadrupeds during tliis and the Wealden 
eras, Prof. Lyell says, " that the absence of the bones of 
whales, seals, dolphins, and other aquatic mammalia, 
whether in the chalk or in the oolite, is certainl}^ very re- 
markable." Now, considering that the aquatic animals 
here mentioned, are of a higher order than the marsupials 
of the fossils (admitting that they are such, but they may 
just as likely belong to reptiles or fish), and that they did 
not, and some of them could not, frequent the shallow 
lakes, estuaries, and lagoons, inhabited by the saurians, 
chelonians, batrachians, and similar creatures, there would 
seem to be nothing remarkable in the premises. On the 
contrary, it would be remarkable to find the skeletons of 



2t8 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

whales side by side with reptiles, lizards, and fish. The 
whole order of Cetacean mammalia, with perhaps a few 
exceptions, were inhabitants of deep water, rendered 
necessary by their enormous proportions ; and while this 
ought to account for the absence of their bones in the 
shallow deposits of the Oolite seas, it ought also to ex- 
plain their absence until the appearance of the subsequent 
Tertiaiy rocks, upon which their skeletons were deposited, 
as the t7ie7i floor of the sea, or the posssible floor of its 
great currents, into which the ocean was divided then, as 
it is now ; so that in the case of whales, their carcasses 
would naturally be borne away into the deepest channels, 
and not be floated into the shallow basins along the land 
coasts. If, instead of whales, they had been trilobites, or 
fish, or lizards, their fossils would have been strewn 
amongst these rocks ; but being nothing less than whales 
and considerably larger than any other animals which the 
world has ever yet produced, we must look for their re- 
mains in the deep sea-currents which they inhabited, and 
these we shall have an opportunity of inspecting when we 
reach the Tertiary periods, or the sixth day. 

Above the Oolite rocks, in England, occur an interest- 
ing series, called the Wealden. The word is derived from 
woods, or wealds, and has reference to the extensive 
forests in the southeast of England, where the rocks were 
first observed. They consist of limestone, sandstone, con- 
glomerate, and clay, abounding in the remains of fresh- 
water and land animals and vegetation. As it is believed 
to be the only fresh-imter deposit occurring in the Se- 
condary Formation, it is extremely interesting as exhibit- 
ing the remains of creatures and vegetable life that flour- 
ished on the "dry land" during that period. These 
deposits occur in England, Scotland, and some other por- 
tions of Europe, but nowhere in the United States. The 
main deposit consists of a stratum of clay, from 150 to 



THE WEALDEN STRATA. 2T9 

200 feet thick, having various shades of blue and brown 
streaks, with subordinate benches of limestone and sand ; 
and containing fresh-water shells, and bones of reptiles 
and fish. After this, another stratum occurs, from 400 
to 500 feet thick, consisting of gray, white, ferruginous, 
and fawn-colored sands and sandstones, with fragments 
of lignite, and carbonized vegetation; but no animals or 
shells. Below are layers of friable sandstones of various 
shades ; and then compact, bluish-gray grit, in lenticular 
masses, the surface often covered with mammillary con- 
cretions, and the lower beds frequently passing into con- 
glomerates, with quartz pebbles, containing ferns and 
stems of trees, bones of saurian reptiles, birds, turtles, 
fishes, and shells of the genera Unio, Cyclas, Cyrena, and 
Paludina — all fresh- water. Further down is clay of a 
bluish-gray color, alternating with sand and shale, and 
containing bones and shells more sparingly, with frag- 
ments of ferns and stems of vegetables. Another layer 
of white and yellow sand and sandstone exhibits only 
ferns and pieces of lignite, or imperfect brown coal. A 
still lower stratum of sand, alternating with clay and 
shale, affords only ferns and lignite. Finally, a layer of 
shelly limestone, alternating with sandstone, shale, and 
marl, exhibits a few shells of the genera Cyclas and 
Cyrena, with specimens of lignite and carbonized wood. 
Among these strata (which extend 200 miles in one direc- 
tion, and 220 in another,) remains of forests in situ have 
been found in several localities. The trees had invariably 
been severed near the ground, leaving the summits of the 
stumps jagged, as if violently detached by a hurricane. 
Although fragments of lignite occur in the strata, no in- 
formation is given by the English geologists as to the 
conversion or non-conversion of these weald forests into 
coal. Vegetation, indeed, would appear to have been 
almost as prolific as that of the coal period ; and although 



280 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

it consisted almost exclusively of ferns and palms, yet 

these are the varieties which, according to the geologists, 
furnished the great bulk of the coal of the Devonian 
basins ; while the manner of deposition at the mouths of 
great rivers and estuaries of the sea was precisely similar. 
Here is the same vegetation and the same circumstances 
in operation which they refer to the carboniferous era ; — 
hut where are the layers of coal? Shale, and clay, and 
remaiJis of vegetation, alternating with sandstones, lime- 
stones, and conglomerate ; — but where is the coal ? The 
solution of the problem is this : after the oolite, every 
trace of the resinous vegetation disappeared — not a sign 
of it is to be seen in the subsequent Cretaceous era. 
There were a few specimens only of Cycadeae and mono- 
cotyledonous palms, more of ferns and aquatic fucoides ; 
but absolutely not a trace of Conifera, Sigillaria, Lepido- 
dendrons, and Calamites. The proposition hitherto ad- 
vanced, therefore, that notwithstanding the extraordinary 
abundance of the ferns during the carboniferous era, they 
contributed nothing ivhatever to the coal, is fully exempli- 
fied here, where scarcely any thing else than ferns pre- 
vailed. 

In some of the Weald deposits, there is an alternation 
of marine and fresh-water strata. This alternation is 
continued three or four times, and is precisely similar to 
that of certain coal-fields. Geologists explain it in a simi- 
lar manner, by supposing the gradual sinking. of the strata 
under the sea, and their subsequent elevation into a basin 
to receive the detritus of the land. This subsidence and 
elevation is supposed to have been gradual, and the work 
of long periods of time ; yet it must be admitted that, like 
the theories proposed for the deposition of the coal, a 
great deal of special pleading has to be employed to make 
all the points of the proposition harmonize. 

The fishes of the Wealden are specifically different from 



THE CRETACEOUS OR CHALK STRATA. 281 

those of the succeeding strata, and belong principally to 
the genera Pycuodus, Lepidotus, and Hybodus. Several 
species of crocodiles have been identified, as well as large 
numbers of turtles. The most remarkable animal, how- 
ever, was the Iguanodon — a monster reptile, occupying 
the same relation to its species, as to size, that the ele- 
phant does to the mammalia. Although detached bones 
and teeth only have been found, these serve to identify 
it with species existing in St. Domingo, and which are 
herbivorous and terrestrial. There were several other 
enormous and peculiar reptiles in this epoch, including 
some which flourished previously. Of these, the ptero- 
dactyle still survived; but notwithstanding its supposed 
depredations upon insects, these latter exhibit an extra- 
ordinary increase, and many new genera were introduced, 
evidently for the first time. 

We now reach the last group, in ascending order, in 
the great Secondary formation, namely, the Cretaceous. 
Geologists apply this name to it in consequence of its im- 
mehse strata of chalk, although in the United States these 
layers are wholly absent. It is, however, supposed 
that the chalk is here represented by cotemporary layers 
of ferruginous sand; but as the identity of fossils is not 
clear, they may yet call for some special distinction as to 
time or the operating circumstances of their deposition. 

The strata of this extensive and widelv-diflfused system 

are literally made up from the spoils of the ancient seas 

embracing coral reefs, and sponges, the shells of belcm- 
nites, ammonites, baculites, turrilites, and the bones of 
fishes, reptiles, and other animal remains, with fragments 
of plants and sea-weeds. The vegetation alone was 
inferior, and consisted almost exclusively of marine plants 
— those long, slender grasses which still grow along the 
shallow coasts, and in the stagnant rivers and lakes of the 
present era. There was hardly a trace of land vegetation, 



282 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

except a few specimens of palms and cycadeae. Even the 
ferns, whose beautiful and diversified leaves were scattered 
in every rock from the foundation of the earth, had now 
temporaril}^ disappeared, or were but obscurely represented 
by one or two species. 

The microscope establishes the interesting fact of the 
origin of the chalk strata, wherever they occur in Europe, 
from the shells and secretions of marine animals. During 
the Oolite, and previously, the minute Radiata, with the 
co-operation of the higher shelled animals and crustaceans, 
built many islands in the midst of the ocean, some of them 
extending hundreds of miles, in every direction. Their 
instincts, as we have before observed, lead them to com- 
bine together in the form of trees, or incrusting or hang- 
ing from rocks. To do this, they are supplied with a 
sticky paste which they secrete in large quantities, and 
thereby elaborate carbonate of lime from the water which 
they inhabit. When the ocean became dotted with 
these coral reefs, new animals made their appearance, 
who browsed upon them like cattle in luxuriant meadows. ^ 
This is still done by certain fish in the coral islands of the 
Pacific, and in opening them their intestines are found 
invariably to be filled with a calcareous excrement and 
with milky juices. Besides the fish, there were also pecu- 
liar worms that bored into the porous coral, and elaborated 
a similar juicy excrement. The disturbing operations of 
these animals, aided by the friction of the waves, finally 
wore down the coralline islands, and impregnated the 
waters with fine calcareous mud. The seas, all over 
Europe, where these strata are found, were white and 
milky with the thin detritus thus held in suspension 
by the water; and the natural result was its transporta- 
tion to the adjacent shallow coasts, where it would be 
precipitated in the form of sticky chalk, and upon the 
subsequent elevation of the strata, the whole would solidify 



THE CRETACEOUS OR CHALK STRATA. 283 

under the ordinary drainage of interior springs and rivers, 
as well as by means of rain and snow, in the manner of 
stalagmites. The same process, or the first stage of it, 
is still in operation in all the coralline islands of the Pacific ; 
and it has been found, on comparison, and under the 
microscope, that there is no difference between the cal-' 
careous mud around them and that of the ancient chalk. 
The accumulation of layer after layer, in this manner, was 
in many respects similar to the deposition of the coal 
strata. Many of the beds of limestone of previous forma- 
tions have originated in precisely the same manner ; but 
having afterward been subjected to heat and pressure, the 
stone has been changed, and the impressions of the poly- 
paria obliterated. Were these beds of chalk exposed to slow 
heat, under pressure, they would crystallize, and be con- 
verted into the finest granular marble. 

The fossils of the chalk are specifically distinct from 
those of the subsequent Tertiary formation. They are 
the finely sculptured spoils of an ocean which rivaled the 
Atlantic and the Pacific in extent, and which it must have 
required vast ages to accumulate — strewn, as they now 
are, over large portions of Great Britain, France, Russia, 
Germany, Sweden, and Denmark, as well as in Asia and 
Africa. 

In some of the layers of chalk, in Europe, there is a 
large admixture of flint, which often indicates the plane 
of stratification of the beds. These silicious nodules are 
the remains of animal sponges, sea urchins, and other 
minute creatures, whose spicular secretions were silicious 
instead of calcareous. Among the shells preserved in the 
chalk, are the Tenebratula, which has appeared in almost 
every previous era, but began to dwindle away upon its 
approach to this. The Belemnite made its appearance in 
the Oolite, and is remarkable for having been supplied 
with an ink-bag, by which, upon occasions of danger, it 



284 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

was enabled to muddle the water around it, and thus pro- 
tect itself from attack. Among the great variety of the 
fossil shells, some of them were very beautiful and highly 
sculptured, as those of Turrelites, Ostrea, Scaphites, 
Hamites, etc. The Saurian animals, which flourished so 
extensively in previous eras, began rapidly to diminish ; 
while even fishes were comparatively scarce. Among the 
former, however, was a monster called the MoscesoAirus, 
which measured twenty-five feet in length, and the ana- 
tomical structure of which is presumed to have been inter- 
mediate between that of the Iguanodon and the Monitor. 
Crocodiles and turtles existed, but without material change 
from the preceding era. Bones of birds have also been 
found, in various places, in these strata. 

Included in the Cretaceous group, but below the chalk, 
is a deposit which always accompanies it, called the green 
sand. It embraces layers sometimes eight or nine hun- 
dred feet thick, and consists mainly of sharp silicious 
sand, intermixed, or sometimes interstratified with marly 
calcareous sand, and laminae of mica. The lower benches 
alternate with ferruginous sands, and beds of clay and 
sand, with seams of hard limestone and chert. Although 
the deposit is generally stratified, it is yet thoroughly in- 
termixed, as if the sea had been charged with the drainage 
of extensive rivers in addition to the silicious and calcare- 
ous remains of its own waters. 

The Cretaceous group of the United States is very ex- 
tensively developed along the Atlantic coast in Bhode 
Island, New Jersey, and Delaware ; while the whole vast 
region of country in the southwest, which we had fre- 
quent occasion to refer to while discussing the coal period, 
as having then been under the dominion of the ocean, was 
redeemed during this period. The region we allude to 
would, of itself, form no inconsiderable ocean ; including, 
as it does, a large portion of Alabama, Mississippi, Ten- 



THE CRETACEOUS STRATA. 285 

nessee, Arkansas, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. 
All this vast space belongs to the Cretaceous era, and was 
only redeemed from the sea toward the dawn of the sixth 
day. A large portion of the Mississippi and the Upper 
Missouri traverse the Cretaceous strata ; and it is a sin 
gular fact, that such is the porous nature of the soil adja- 
cent to those mighty rivers, that they absorb the great 
bulk of their surplus of water during times of extensive 
overflow, and return it during seasons of drought. This 
fact is frequently illustrated at a distance of more than 
thirty miles from the Mississippi — the wells dug in the 
earth alternately yielding and withholding supplies of 
water with the varying volume of the river itself ! If, 
by any convulsion of nature, the lower valley of the Mis- 
sissippi should sink but a few feet below its present 
level, the ocean would again invade it, and it would be- 
come, what it was before, a mere adjunct of the Gulf of 
Mexico. 

The Cretaceous strata of New Jersey consist principally 
of green sand and green marl, with seams of coralline 
limestone overlying, containing fossils which Prof. Lyell 
thinks agree, upon the whole, with those of the Upper 
European beds. He collected some sixty shells, of which 
five were idontical with the European species, while others 
were cretaceous in their generic forms. Fifteen out of 
the sixty shells were regarded by Prof. Forbes as good 
geographical representatives of well-known cretaceous, 
fossils of Europe. 

The Secondary Formation, comprehending the New Red 
Sandstone, the Lias, Oolite, Wealden, and the Cretaceous 
systems of rocks, occupies very extensive areas in North 
America, or rather that portion of it belonging to the 
United States, for these rocks nowhere occur to any ex- 
tent outside of our political confederation. This may 
account, in some measure, for the superior fertility and 



286 THE FIFTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

variety of our soil ; nevertheless, the fact is a singular 
one, when we consider that, large as is our domain, it 
does not comprise one-sixth part of that vast and almost 
uninhabited portion lying to the north, and embracing 
the Canadas and Russian and British America. But the 
reason may be explained by remembering what we have 
before stated, viz., that nearly the whole of the North 
American continent was elevated during the Metamorphic 
and the Carboniferous eras, and that it was in all proba- 
bility the first, as it was incomparably the largest, tract 
of country ever redeemed from the primitive seas, at any 
one period. In South America, the Secondarj^ rocks 
scarcely occur at all — there being but two or three iso- 
lated little districts in Peru and Yenezuela in which they 
are represented. In proportion to the surface, the great- 
est development of these rocks is in Continental Europe. 
A large portion of that country lying between the Medi- 
terranean on the south,, the Caspian Sea and Persian 
Gulf on the east, the Baltic on the northwest, and the 
Ural mountains, in Russia, on the east, was occupied by 
these seas during the period in question — there having 
been, here and there, little islands of the primitive rocks 
scattered irregularly through the great field of waters. 
We accordingly find the Secondary rocks in the ascend- 
ant in Ireland, England, France, Germany, Portugal, 
Spain, Austria, Turkey, Syria, Russia, and that portion 
of Persia along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, 
and north of the Euphrates. The Secondary strata are 
very sparingly exhibited in Asia and Africa, except that 
in the latter they form a zone from the Red Sea west 
through Tripoli and Algiers to the Atlantic coast — having 
the great desert of Sahara on the south, and the Mediter- 
ranean sea on the north. Small districts have been ascer- 
tained to exist in China and Japan ; but little is as yet 



THE ERA OF AQUEOUS LIFE. 287 

known of the geological structure of either of these vast 
regions. 

Now, in the beginning of the great Secondary Forma- 
tion (or the Fifth Day), God commanded the " waters to 
bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, 
and fowl that may fly above the earth, in the open firma- 
ment of heaven." While we are left to infer the previous 
existence of marine life, as before suggested, the waters 
are now commanded to bring forth abundantly ; — and God 
blessed the creatures thus produced, and ordered them 
still to increase and multiply, and " to Jill the waters in the 
seas. " Have we not just seen an absolute and literal ful- 
fillment of this order ? Was not sea after sea gradually 
filled up with the countless millions of corals, molluscans, 
crustaceans, fish, and enormous reptiles ? The whales 
which, in the cold seas of the north, attain a length of 
ninety feet, in the torrid climate that then prevailed, when 
every other creature expanded mto giant-like proportions, 
became absolutely too monstrous to frequent the shallow 
seas thus gradually being redeemed from the ocean, and 
it is only in the deep waters of the ensuing Tertiary that 
we can reasonably hope to meet their fossilized remains. 
But with the seas thus redeemed and laid open to our in- 
spection, we see the extraordinary and wonderful devel- 
opment of marine life ; and no one can fail to perceive in 
their fossil remains tlie complete and overwhelming reali- 
zation of the divine injunction, nor to acknowledge, with 
profound humility, the power and majesty of the great 
Creator. But not only of the seas : the atmosphere hav- 
ing now, for the first time, become clear, buoyant, and 
open, was fitted to support the winged messengers of the 
ait; and accordingly we early find the imprints of their 
feet, and then, at every successive stage, tl pir fossilized 
bones — thus showing that they, too, promptly responded to 
the creative order. During the coal period, such a com- 
19 



288 THE rirTii day — geological. 

mand would evidently have been premature ; but Moses, 
comprehending the true circumstances of each period, has 
introduced the order of creation precisely as it occurred. 

Thus, in response to the divine word, the seas were 
rippled and foamy with the living creatures that filled 
them ; the air was blackened with flocks of birds, of 
varied plumage ; while colossal fowls, to which the eagle 
or the racing ostrich of the desert are as pigmies, screeched 
discordantly along the margin of the ocean inlets, or 
waded shallow lakes in search of food ; enormous whales^ 
and fish, and minute corals, filled the seas ; crawling rep- 
tiles, and scaly crocodiles, and lizards, crowded the muddy 
marshes, and wallowed in stagnant pools ; aquatic fowls 
and pterodactyles sk.mmed the lakes and rivers; while 
soaring birds spread their pinions in the breeze ! So com- 
pletely and so perfectly was this command realized, that 
we may say with entire truth, "the dust we now tread 
upon was once alive." 

And God said, Let the waters generate 
Reptile with spawn abundant, living soul ; 
And let fowl fly above the earth, with wings 
Displayed on the open firmament of heaven 
And Grod created the great whales, and each 
Soul living, each that crept, which plenteously 
The waters generated by their kinds, 
And every bird of wing after his kind; 
And saw that it was good, and blessed them, saying, 
Be fruitful, multiply, and in the seas, 
And lakes, and running streams, the waters fill; 
And let the fowl be multiplied on the earth. 
Forthwith the sounds and seas, each creek and bay, 
With fry innumerable swarm, and shoals 
Of tish, that with their fins and shining scales, 
Glide under the green wave, in sculls that oft 
Eank the mid sea; part single, or with mate, 
Graze the sea-weed, their pasture, and through grovoB 
Of coral stray, or sporting with quick glance. 
Show to the sun their waved coats dropt with gold; 



MILTON'S FIETH DAY. 289 

Or in their pearly shells at ease attend 

Moist nutriment, or under rocks their food 

In jointed armor watch ; on smooth the seal 

And bended dolphins play ; part huge of bulk, 

Wallowing unwieldy, enormous in their gait, 

Tempest the ocean; there Leviathan, 

Hugest of living creatures, on the deep 

Stretched like a promontory sleeps, or swims 

And seems a moving land, and at his gills 

Draws in, and at his trunk spouts out, a sea. 

Meanwhile the tepid eaves, and fens, and shores. 

Their brood as numerous hatch from the egg, that soon 

Bursting with kindly rupture forth discharged 

Their callow young ; but feathered soon and fledge, 

They summed their pens, and soaring the air sublime 

With clang despised the ground, under a cloud 

In prospect : there the eagle and the stork 

On cliffs and cedar tops their eyries build : 

Part loosely wing the region, part more wise 

In common ranged in figure wedge their way, 

Intelligent of seasons, and set forth 

Their airy caravan, high over seas 

Flying, and over lands, with mutual wing 

Easing their flight; so steers the prudent crane 

Her annual voyage, borne on winds ; the air 

Floats, as they pass, fanned with unnumbered plumes. 

From branch to branch the smaller birds with song 

Solaced the woods, and spread their painted wings 

Till even ; nor then the solemn nightingale 

Ceased warbling, but all night tuned her soft lays. 

Others on silver lakes and rivers bathed 

Their downy breast; the swan, with arched neck 

Between her white wings mantling proudly, rows 

Her state with oary feet; yet soft they quit 

The dank, and rising on swift pennons, tower 

The mid aerial sky. Others on ground 

Walked firm; the crested cock, whose clarion sounds 

The silent hours, and the other, whose gay trait 

Adorns him, colored with the florid hue 

Of rainbows and starry eyes. The waters thus 

With fish replenished, and the air with fowl. 

Evening and morn solemnized the Fifth Day. — Milton. 



THE SIXTH DAY— GEOLOGICAL. 

24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his 
kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind : 
and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, 
and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth 
after his kind : and God saw that it was good. 26 And God said, Let us 
naake man in our image, after our likeness ; and let them have dominion 
over the tish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, 
and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon 
the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God 
created he him ; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed 
them, and God said unto them. Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish 
the earth, and subdue it : and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and 
over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon 
the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bear- 
ing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the 
which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed : to you it shall be for meat. 
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to 
every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have 
given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And God saw every 
thing he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and 
the morning were the sixth day. 

The extensive formation now known as the Tertiary, 
not a great many years ago, was included with that of 
the Alhiviiim, or modern formation. The investigations 
of Cuvier and Brongniart, of the strata immediately sur- 
rounding the city of Paris, in 1810, established the fact 
of the existence of a series of strata, of marine, river, 
lake, volcanic and land origin, which, on account of the 
extent, variety, and character of their fossils, were enti- 
tled to the rank of a separate and independent forma- 
(290) 



THE TERTIARY FORMATION. 291 

tion. Since that time, similar strata have been examined 
elsewhere in England, France, Germany, and numerous 
portions of Continental Europe, the fossils of which, 
while they exhibit a gradual transition toward those of 
existing species, in other respects point to an era at once 
independent and isolated from the past or the present. 
It appeared from the researches of Deshayes, in France, 
on the fossil shells of this interesting formation, that it 
naturally arranges itself into three leading groups or di- 
visions, as determined by their approaches to the character 
of existing species. Thus, the fossils of the oldest group 
show an average of about four per cent., as compared 
with the species now living on the earth ; those of the 
middle group exhibit about eighteen to twenty per cent. , 
while those of the third, or upper group, have fifty per 
cent. Prof. Lyell, availing himself of this Paleontolo- 
gical discovery, called the older strata Eocene, the middle 
Miocene, and the upper Pliocene; but, as if tliis were 
not sufficiently comprehensive, he afterward erected sev- 
eral sub-groups, as the upper, middle, and lower Eocene, 
and the newer and older Pliocene. He also introduced 
various other local and general names for particular strata ; 
so that, although the whole formation is comparatively 
new in geological discovery, it is already characterized 
by as many technical names and local sub-divisions, as 
that of any other. The names proposed by Lyell, how- 
ever, in this case, are sufficiently simple, and they have 
consequently been generally adopted; they indicate the 
gradual transition of one stage into another, until finally 
arriving at the post-Pliocene, diluvium, or boulder strata, 
we find ourselves surrounded by the physical debris of 
the present — by that genial Sabbath of Nature, during 
which the work o^ Creation ceased, and the great 
Author rested from his creative labor. The transition 
from stage to stage i^ very gradual, and sometimes 



292 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

scarcely perceptible ; for beginning with an identity of 
but three or four per cent, of the moUuscan fossils, the 
last sub-group of the Tertiary contains no less than nine- 
ty-four per cent, of species now inhabiting the adjacent 
seas and lakes. A description of the Tertiary, however, 
in consequence of the technical names being new, and 
owing to the numerous subordinate groups into which 
Lyell and others separate it, is not only difficult, but 
somewhat unsatisfactory. Mr. Lyell devotes fifty-five 
pages of his Elements to its consideration, of which 
nearly one half are actually occupied in explanations of 
a purely technical character ; — that is, they have little 
bearing directly upon the elucidation of the subject as a 
whole. The first part of the formation was exclusively 
marine — a continuation, under different features, of the 
Cretaceous ; the middle part was also principally aqueous, 
TDut exhibits a strong tendency in its fossils to the fauna 
and flora of the present, accompanied by the introduction, 
for the first time, of land animals of prevailing genera 
and species. The latter part was distinguised by intense 
and wide-spread volcanic action ; the change of land into 
sea, and of sea into land ; by the elevation of mountain 
systems, the prevalence of universal cataclysms, the dif- 
fusion of erratic boulders, icebergs, and moraines, and 
finally terminated by gradually merging into the geolo- 
gical laws now in force. 

The JSTummulite rocks of the Swiss Alps, and of the 
Pyrenees, are the oldest members of the Tertiary group 
in Europe. Indeed, some geologists are disposed to rank 
them with the preceding Cretaceous system ; but although 
they are elevated nine or ten thousand feet above the 
level of the sea, the fossils they contain are very similar 
to those of the Paris and London basins. They consist of 
limestone, slate, marl, and sandstone of various colors 
and textures, and nearly all abounding in the character- 



TERTIARY ROCKS OF EUROPK. 293 

ristic fossils of the Nummulite. From their resemblance 
to metallic coins, these fossils were formerly called bj the 
Germans deviVs money, and formed the theme of many a 
wonderful legend and romance. The strata often attain 
a thickness of several thousand feet, and besides their 
wide distribution in Europe, in isolated basins, they 
occur extensively in Asia, Africa, and America. In cer- 
tain portions of the Alps, where they have been disturbed 
and exposed to heat, they have been changed into crys- 
talline marble, quartz rock, and mica-schist. 

The Tertiary formation, as developed in different parts 
of England, exhibits considerable variation in lithological 
character. It is generally at least two thousand feet 
thick, without counting absent strata, some of which, but 
generally the upper, are always wanting. It is seldom, 
therefore, that the complete formation is found in one 
region ; if it were, the aggregate thickness would be 
immense. In England, it is well represented in Hamp- 
shire and the Isle of Wight, and the order of superposi- 
tion (without regard to LyelPs Miocene and Eocenes) may 
be stated as consisting of, 1. sands and plastic clays, the 
latter being extensively used in England, Germany, and 
Prance, in the manufacture of pottery ware ; 2. the 
London clay, so-called because the cities of London and 
Paris are b'oth erected on such a stratum, and which is 
also used to some extent in manufactures, especially brick ; 
3. fresh-water debris, comprising river sands, calcareous 
marl and mud, and river shells and land plants ; 4. clay and 
marl with marine shells, but of different species from those 
of the lower London clay ; 5. upper fresh- water deposits, 
including white and green marls, and calcareous lime- 
stones, which form an almost solid aggregation of fresh- 
water shells, principally of Paludina concinna, Lymnea 
pyramidalis, and Planorbis euomphalus. The Paludina 
have a spiral termination, but are scarcely larger than a 



294 THE SIXTH DAY — GJSOLOGICAL. 

grain of wheat; nevertheless they often constitute the 
great bulk of the solid contents of the rocks in which they 
are imbedded. The fossils of the London clay consist 
largely of Cassidaria carinati, Pieurotoma prisca, Trochus 
agglutinans, and Turritella edita, (also a spiral, but very 
long and slender.) Fragments of trees are found which, 
although converted into hard stone, still exhibit the per- 
forations of the Teredin^, a boring mollusc, nearly related 
to the Teredo, the pest of the Indian seas. In the Paris 
basin, besides the usual alternation of marine and fresh- 
water deposits, there occur very extensive beds of 
gypsum, more familiarly known as plaster of Paris. The 
finer portions, being alabaster, are employed in the arts 
of sculpture, especially for small ornaments ; while the 
ordinary gypsum, containing a few per cent, of carbonate, 
in addition to the prevailing sulphate of lime, makes an 
excellent plaster or stucco for houses. It is likewise 
valuable, in certain cases, as a fertilizer. i 

The vegetation of the Tertiary shows a remarkable in- 
crease over the preceding Cretaceous^in fact over all the 
groups combined of the Secondary Formation. It is a 
matter of no astonishment, therefore, that this period 
should have produced beds of coal — especially as there 
was a great increase of coniferous trees, perhaps nearly 
equal to that of the carboniferous era. To tliis fact (which 
is one deserving particular notice, since not a trace of 
these trees is to be found in the era immediately preced- 
ing) maybe attributed many of those isolated deposits 
of lignite, mineral bitumen, pitch, and impure vege- 
table gums, oils, and resins, so plentifully distributed 
in basins over the earth. These same trees, with those 
of the Cycadese, had also a prolific development during the 
Oolitic period, and the result was the deposition of such 
coal basins as that near Richmond, in Virginia, which, in 
consequence of its greater age, is more completely miner- 



FOSSILS OF THE TERTIARY. 295 

alized than those of the Tertiary period. Whenever these 
trees occur, there is coal ; but whenever they do not occur, 
there is none ; and the coincidence is full of significance 
in connection with the theory of the origin of coal which 
I have proposed in this work. But besides the conifer86, 
there was an equal, if not a greater development of other 
dicotyledonous trees, and of species allied to those now 
existing in the forests of the earth. Among these may be 
mentioned the families of poplars, willows, elms, sycamores, 
maples, birches, magnolias, oaks, etc. The monocoty- 
ledons also were developed to a greater extent than ever 
before, and are represented at the present time by more 
than one thousand species, principally of palms, naiades, 
and tropical trees. The ferns and mosses were also more 
numerous, as well as marine plants and weeds ; but all the 
other varieties which distinguished the carboniferous era, 
and which are usually supposed to have furnished the 
great bulk of its coal, have no fossil representations 
whatever. 

The Infusoria and Polyparia, which flourished in 
nearly every preceding era, still continued, on a scale of 
even increased magnitude, their extended operations in the 
bottoms of seas. Yast beds of limestone and silicious 
concretions have been elevated from the ocean, which are 
literally derived from their delicate secretions and the re- 
mains of their minute skeletons. Insects, which ap- 
peared in-egularly, and with the varying development of 
vegetation, again spring into existence, after their total 
absence during the Cretaceous period. They began grad- 
ually to increase from the dawn of the Tertiary, and at 
its close were more numerous than ever before, and 
scarcely less so than at the present moment. Spiders, 
scorpions, serpulae, and other articulated creatures, also 
expanded very materially over previous periods ; but there 
was no perceptible increase of marine molluscs, except in 



296 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOQICAL. 

Nummulites, Miliotites, and other microscopic shell ani- 
niais, and in the variety of land and fresh-water testacea. 
These latter were evidently as numerous during the Ter- 
tiary as they are now, and, as has already been suggested, 
were superseded by the present species. The most ex- 
traordinary change in the marine fauna of the Tertiary 
was in Fishes ; and in this, as in every other movement 
affecting the animal species, the infidel theory of pro- 
gressive development, or of gradual infusion of a lower 
species into a higher order of creation, is at once utterly 
disproved and annihilated. Nearly every leading compa- 
rative anatomist has adopted a system of classification of 
his own ; and, in dealing with the ancient fishes espe- 
cially, there is necessarily abundant room for diversity of 
opinion. The animal kingdom is divided into four lead- 
ing parts — the principal one being the Yertebrata, which 
is itself divided into four classes, as fishes, reptiles, birds, 
and mammals. Each class, in turn, is arranged into 
orders ; the orders into tribes ; the tribes into families ; 
the families into sub-families or genera, and the genus 
into species. There is in each division, a central nucleus, 
or typical characteristic of structure, around which all 
the individuals can be arranged; and the only difficulty 
that has arisen has been as to which division — species, 
genera, family, order, or class — the individual specimens 
properly belong. Cuvier, and most of the older ichthyo- 
logists, classified the extinct and living classes according 
to their internal skeletons, their brain, nervous, genera- 
tive, and circulatory organs. But as in the fossil speci- 
mens it was often impossible to determine their true 
character b}'- these tests alone, owing to their imper- 
fect preservation. Prof Agassiz adopted a classification 
founded mainly on the structure of their scales and that 
of their external skeleton, which are generally not only 
well preserved, but very often the only portions not en- 



FISH OF THE TERTIARY 29t 

tirelj obliterated. In this way many specimens have 
been identified, which defied classification according to 
the other systems. Agassiz, therefore, divided the fish, 
both living and fossil, into four orders, — the Placoid, 
the Ganoid, the Ctenoid, and the Cycloid. The fish of 
all the preceding geological eras, up to that of the Cre- 
taceous, belonged to the two orders first mentioned. 
The Placoids were distinguished by having their body 
covered with broad horny and enameled plates, with 
bristling protuberances like the teeth of a file, instead of 
smooth imbricated scales ; and for presenting, in lieu of 
a well-defined osseous skeleton, a soft cartilaginous struc- 
ture. Of the six families which the order comprised, at 
least two have typical representatives in our seas. These 
are the sharks, the rays, the dog-fish, and some other car- 
tilaginous species — all very numerous in some regions, 
and the first occupying to the creatures of the deep, the 
same position as that of the vulture to those of the earth 
and air. The shark has been known to follow in the 
track of vessels for hundreds of miles in quest of spoil ; 
and to attend, with eager watchfulness, during naval en- 
gagements, nothing daunted by the deadly conflict of 
arms, ready to seize the human victims that might fall a 
prey to their voracious jaws. Some of the species of 
rays, armed with stings, (as the raia pastinaca,) or with 
an electric apparatus (as the torpedo narke), are also en- 
abled to prey upon the weaker and smaller fishes which 
they encounter. The Placoids and Ganoids appeared for 
'the first time during the upper Silurian era, but flourished 
more extensively in the carboniferous than any other pe- 
riod. They sent out lateral families, genera, and species 
at different times, but always as distinct subordinate 
groups. While there has been a constant variation in 
every progressive formation (the old families running 
out and the new ones coming in) the general features 



298 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

that characterized the order as a whole were invariably 
distinct and separate. And while some of their typical 
representatives are as distinct and numerous now as those 
of the previous eras, they remain true and fixed to their 
ancient instincts, and preserve, in some measure, the 
anatomy and family features peculiar to the ancient 
types. Through all the changes of time and of circum- 
stances, they are as esseniially'^lacoidian to-day as other 
placoidians were in the far remote antiquity. In the 
great mint of Creation, generic and specific moulds have 
been changed, as all else was changed, from era to era ; 
but no one but a philosophic fool would venture to infer 
from thence that the solid gold and silver of the stamped 
coins has been basely amalgamated. Nature has never 
been convicted of counterfeiting ; on the contrary, the 
integrity of her stamp has ever been maintained, from 
the highest to the lowest of her creatures, and in the 
face of the most wicked and outrageous abuses. To 
charge her with infusing lead into silver, or silver into 
gold, or of bringing down god-like man by gradually 
merging into him the fishes of the sea and the crawling 
reptiles of the land, is merely equivalent to charging 
upon the Almighty Creator an ultimate design of merg- 
ing and fusing all his splendid variety of created life 
into one channel, or into one species ! Such an idea of 
fusion or of development, so far from having been 
contemplated in the scheme of Creation, is absolutely be- 
neath contempt. And yet the late Hugh Miller wrote 
two very learned and elaborate books, mainly to confute 
it — as if a bare-faced libel on the Almighty needed any 
refutation whatever. But in his attempt to put down 
the theory of progressive development, he suggested an- 
other, scarcely less unfortunate or absurd — that of gradual 
degradation. Much respect has been accorded to Miller 
because of his zeal in behalf of religion ; but many of 



FISHES OF THE TERTIARY. 299 

his propositions, though maintained with a great deal of 
pseudo-scientific acumen, and with extraordinary beauty 
and force of diction, are utterly untenable, unphilosophic, 
and insidiously inimical to sound truth. His pages are 
full of special pleadings ; and often proceeding upon ob- 
scure and doubtful premises — upon an isolated shell, or 
tooth, or stem, or algae — he boldly launches out into the 
most gorgeous and dashing inductions, cutting hither and 
thither, and putting whole armies of Lamarkians, and 
Okens, and " Yestiges" to flight, like another Don Quix- 
otte vanquishing a drove of swine. But he was a good and 
a great man ; and his practical explorations of the old E.ed 
Sandstone are among the most valuable contributions to 
modern geology. He was, however, more of a poet and a 
word-painter than a philosopher ; and loved to dally with 
pretty ideal visions, and high-sounding words, rather than 
to pursue stubborn facts. He was more a Theologist 
than a Geologist ; and while he deserves credit for un- 
surpassed zeal in his endeavors to harmonize the two, he 
has yet placed obstacles between them, which are utterly 
insurmountable upon the basis of scientific and philoso- 
phic inquiry. 

The Ganoid order of fishes embraced thirteen different 
families, most of them numerous, and several belonging to 
the Sauroid type. Like the Placoids, this order was most 
numerous during the Carboniferous period. Their body, 
like that of alligators, was generally inclosed in a coat-of- 
niail — the scales being hard and horny, and of a rhom- 
boidal shape. The skeleton was more bony than that of 
the Placoids, but less than those of Cycloids. In this 
particular their position was intermediate between the 
two, but in other respects they were perfectly distinct 
from both. The sturgeon, howev^er, which belongs to the 
Ganoid order, has a cartilaginous structure ; but differs 
from the shark in the arrangement of its gills, which re- 



300 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL 

semble those of the true fish. Its mouth is small, and 
destitute of teeth, and, like the Cycloids, its head is cui- 
rassed, and supplied with bony bucklers. While this fish 
is found everywhere in the ocean, it also frequents rivers, 
where it deposits its spawn. During the Oolitic period, 
as we mentioned while speaking of that era, the Sauroid 
fish had an extraordinary development — but those varieties 
with heterocircal tails were utterly extinguished, and no 
less than fourteen genera, with homocircal tails, made 
their appearance. Of these genera, two representatives 
remain — the Folypterus of the Mle, and the Lepidasteus, 
or pike, of our American rivers and lakes, Of the families 
of Syngnathidce and Diodontidce, several types exist, but 
their fossils are rare in the Tertiary. With a few excep- 
tions, and they of a somewhat doubtful character, the true 
Saurian fishes all expired during the Cretaceous period — 
a period which effected a more complete and general revo- 
lution of animated nature than any previous era. With 
the simultaneous and almost universal extinction of the 
Ganoid order, and of the Saurian type, those of the Cte- 
noid and C3^cloid made their appearance. But they did 
not come gradually, as if developed from the extinct 
races, their immediate predecessors ; but they came in 
myriads, and in numberless distinct families, genera, and 
species; and as they came, so they remain/ While the 
Cycloids and Ctenoids are both distinguished from the 
ancient fishes by their osseous or bony structure, as well 
as some other prominent features, ichthyologists have 
devised various schemes of classification to separate them 
from each other, the most popular of which, based on the 
number and character of their fins, also constitutes a fea- 
ture in the system of Agassiz. It is hardly w^orth while 
here, or proper, in view of the space it would require, to 
enter upon a description of their genera and species, since 
nine-tenths of all the fish now living belong to these two 



FISHES OF THE TERTIARY. 301 

great orders — the other one-tenth being feebly represented 
by those which are t5^pical of the preceding eras. Both 
of them comprise a great many families — the Cycloid 
being well represented by those of the Pike, the Carp, and 
the Salmon, while the Ctenoids are equally represented 
by the Perch, the Mackerel, the Mullet, and the Gudgeon. 
As far as specific character is concerned, there is no fish 
now living that really presents a true counterpart of any 
that distinguished the ocean previous to the Cretaceous 
formation. The change then introduced was so thorough 
and so sudden, that the whole ichthyologic field was re- 
organized on a new basis, to meet the requirements of the 
approaching era of man. This was not the work of a 
slow, precarious and gradual development ; but it was 
instantaneous and direct. It was not the effect of an em- 
pirical law ; but the work of the great Creator, flowing 
spontaneously from the exercise of his almighty Yolition. 
Bearing this great fact in mind, and remembering also, in 
connection with it, the true osseous skeleton of the orders 
thus created, with which the merest urchin of the hook 
and line is familiar, where is the force of Miller's theory 
of gradual degradation, on the one hand, or of the La- 
markian (or Aristotelian) theory of gradual development 
on the other ? If the ancient fishes combined in their 
form and organization some of the features of birds, rep- 
tiles, and turtles, it only proves, if it proves any thing at 
all, that they were not true fishes. Because they inhab- 
ited the seas, it does not follow that we must regard them 
as true fishes. Ducks and geese frequent the water, and 
whales and dolphins live in it ; — yet they are not fish. 
Fishes were made for man ; and God did not create them 
until the dawning of his era, Moses, indeed, in his retro- 
spective vision of the fifth day, says nothing whatever of 
fish. He speaks of the waters ^'bringing forth moving 
creatures and great whales ,^^ and these, we repeat cannot 



302 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

be understood as implying true fish. Moses and all his 
people were as familiar with the existing type of fish as 
we are at this moment ; and the word fish is used again 
and again in the Bible. - That he, therefore, did not 
contemplate true fish, properly so understood, in the phe- 
nomena of the great Secondary Geological Day, is very 
plain, for the simple reason that he did not name them ; 
while, that he did contemplate them in the Sixth Day, is 
equally plain, for the reason that he does name them! 
Now, all this is significant. The " moving creatures" of 
the Fifth Day could not properly be called fish, nor rep- 
tile, nor turtle, nor bird, nor beast. Even comparative 
anatomists, and scientific men of all departments of zool- 
ogy and physiology, generally exceedingly prolific in no- 
menclature, have been much perplexed in adopting names 
by which to distinguish the peculiar and varied creatures 
which characterized that vast formation. And after all, 
the term applied by Moses is perhaps more expressive 
than those of professional naturalists. " Moving crea- 
tures^'' contemplates a variety — a heterogeneous assem- 
blage, otherwise unclassified, rather than a distinct class 
or order ; and hence the propriety and significance of the 
term. Had Moses used the word swimming creatures, 
or crawling, or flging creatures — or had he used the word 
fishes direct — the impolicy of the expression would here 
be palpably manifest — for a whole army of scientific 
sticklers, sitting in their high, places like eagle-eyed vul- 
tures on frowning precipices, would long since have 
pounced upon the unfortunate word, and voraciously as- 
sailed the integrity of his inspiration and his facts. While 
its non-introduction, under the peculiar circumstances, is 
extremely fortunate, its omission can neither be ascribed 
to accident nor ignorance. It was design — deliberate and 
premeditated. For after the creation of the true and ex- 
isting orders of fish, on the dawn of the Sixth Day he ex- 



PISHES OF THE TERTTAKY. 303 

pressly refers to them as constituting a portio/i of the vast 
domain of man. The term "moving creature," as applied 
to aquatic fauna, is no longer used ; — but "the fish of the 
sea^^ are now distinctly and unequivocally referred to,, 
well knowing, as he did, that the previous species had 
been extinguished, and that under no circumstances could 
they have contributed to the sustenance or the varied re- 
quirements of the human family. The theories, therefore, 
of progressive development and of retrogression and 
degradation, are alike absurd and visionary ; and they are 
only the more palpably so, for having been elaborated 
with consunniiatc skill and a great display of pseudo- 
learning. 

We have previously alluded to the supposed absence of 
the fossil remains of whales and dolphins in the rocks of 
the Secondary Formation. Isolated and detached bones 
have indeed been found, which have been referred to these 
animals, and their existence, during that period, is not 
doubted by geolosrists ; but, on the contrary, astonishment 
is expressed at the absence of their fossil remains. I 
suggested that this might be explained on the basis of 
their enormous dimensions, requiring them to select the 
deepest channels of the primitive oceans, or at least for- 
bidding their sojourn in the shallow estuaries which were 
then being converted into dry land. The Greenland whale 
is an animal from sixty to eighty feet in length. Less 
than a century ago, when the fishing grounds in the re- 
gions of the North and South poles were first frequented, 
some were found over one hundred feet in length, and 
comprising a bulk greater than that of one hundred ele- 
phants. The ordinary whale, as it is now captured, is 
still, by far, the largest animal that ever inhabited the 
earth ; and we have the very best evidence to infer that, 
before the species were prematurely cut off by whalers, 
they attained a size commensurate with their age, and far 
20 



304' THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

greater than any now living in our modern seas. We 
have a right to infer this, not only from our practical ex- 
perience, but from the language of Moses. He does not 
speak simply of whales, but of great whales — such as were 
found inhabiting the Polar Seas when whale-fishing was 
in its infancy. The order of Cetacean Mammals, to which 
they belong, comprises several other species, besides Dol- 
phins and Porpoises — all of which are much smaller, and 
generally more local in their habitats, than the great 
Arctic whales. The term great whales, therefore, has a 
meaning, as every word which the good old prophet ut- 
tered has a distinct application. If he meant to include 
the whole order of whales, large and small, the use of the 
word " great" would have been improper ; or if he meant 
to distinguish even the ordinary arctic or antarctic whale, 
such a word would have been out of place. But there is 
a literal and distinct meaning involved in it ; and we are 
to understand from it, what our own experience has 
taught us, that the ancient whales were far more enor- 
mous than any which exist in modern times ; that they 
were necessarily inhabitants of the deep sea, and that in 
consequence ^f their extraordinary bulk, their carcasses 
could not be associated in the sa7ne shallow basins and 
estuaries with the remains of smaller animals and testa- 
ceans: and that, consequently, we must look for their 
fossil remains in the bottoms of those deeper and more 
remote seas, some of which may have become dry land 
only during the Tertiary period. Isolated bones of these 
monsters of the deep have been found, as I before stated, 
in the formation during which they were created ; but for 
the reasons here suggested, their more complete skeletons 
or osseous remains occur in by far the greatest abun- 
dance in the Tertiary measures which immediately suc- 
ceeded. 

From the known fact that the Jews were unacquainted 

I 



ANIMALS OP THE TERTIARY. 305 

even with the northern or southern whales, certain Zoolo- 
gists have suggested that Moses must have referred to 
some other animal of the Sauroid or Ophidian orders. 
This is a somewhat anomalous suggestion to emanate 
from a gentleman, (W. J. Bicknell, of England), who 
subscribes himself author of a " Scripture Natural His- 
tory," and as a "Licentiate of Theology." If the term 
" moving creature" did not sufficiently comprehend the 
whole division of Chelonia, Sauria, Ophidia, Batrachia and 
Fishes, we might venture to infer a misapplication of the 
words " great whales" — especially if no such animals had 
existed. But so long as the divine authenticity of the 
Mosaic narrative is maintained on the basis of physical 
progress, discovery, and law, we see no sufficient reason 
for interposing needless apologies. When the inspired 
Cosmogonist shall have been convicted of lying and de- 
ception, it will be time enough for his friends to volunteer 
explanations for mitigation of sentence ; but in the mean 
time, the Bible can afford to stand as it is, and dispense 
with all such well-meant but rather equivocal apologies 
and explanations. ^ 

If the Paleozoic Formation was remarkable for its vege- 
tation beyond all other features, and the great Secondary for 
its wonderful and prolific marine fauna, then the Tertiary is 
even more extraordinary than either in the development of 
the higher classes of land animals. This far exceeds in 
extent, variety, and perfection, any thing which we have yet 
met with in the stratification of the earth, and forms the 
crowning glory of the magnificent and stupendous whole. 
And yet, while we have seen the footprints of supposed 
Cheirotheria, as far back as the New Red Sandstone, (if 
not, indeed, in the Coal measures, and the Old Bed Sand- 
stone?) and the scattered teeth and jaw-bones of the 
Thylacotherium, and other supposed Marsupial mam- 
mals, in the Oolite. — not to mention the fossil remains 



306 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

of other land animals hig-her in the scale of physical organi- 
zation — is it not at least curious, (and in connection with 
progressive development,) is it not extraordinary and 
incredible that, during the Cretaceous era, none of these, 
nor hardly a trace of any terrestrial species of mammalia 
whatever manifested themselves I If true terrestrial mam- 
mals occurred at all, during any portion of the great 
Secondary Formation, it was in few, doubtful, and isolated 
species ; while in the Cretaceous sub-era, which termi- 
nated the Fifth Geological Day, no traces of any kind have 
been found/ But on the opening of the very next day, 
when Moses lifts the vail of the Tertiary, after the good 
Creator had commanded "the earth to bring forth the 
living creature, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of 
the earth," what is the scene that expands before the 
view ? It is one, the living magnitude of which bewilders 
the senses, and impoverishes the most versatile resources 
of pen and pencil to describe. All at once, as if the 
Creator had exerted his miraculous power to their highest 
tension, the whole surface of the earth is covered with 
strange, wonderfully-made, many of them gigantic, " living 
creatures !" Myriads and myriads of cattle — vast herds 
of roving monsters — birds of varied plumage — beasts of 
every conceivable form, proportion, instinct, habit, and 
species, crowd the teeming vales and the sloping hills, 
wallow along the shallow lakes, bask in the vernant sun, 
or browse leisurely amid the green forests ! The past 
history of the earth, remarkable and prolific as portions 
of it had been, affords no parallel to this. Nor was 
the ocean by any means deficient in life. If possible 
it was more populous than ever before ; but, like the 
earth itself, with new and strange creatures. Where now, 
let me ask again, is the theory of development ? And 
what becomes of the still weaker theory of degradation ? 
Mopes himself unmistakably indicates a development of 



LAND ANIiMALS OP THE TERTIARY. 307 

formations. He carries us by stages from a lower to a 
higher order of Creation ; but not by a law of gradual 
operation. It is the development of successive creative 
acts, and nothing short of the most immediate, direct, an(? 
miraculous creative action can account for the sudden in- 
troduction of the terrestrial fauna of the Tertiary upon 
the surface of the earth. The whole animated Creation 
was changed — changed, as it were, instantaneously, as 
one act of the drama succeeds another. 

" The first^t-e acts already passed, 
A sixth will close the drama with the day — 
Time's noblest ofFering is the last I" 

The gi'eat class of Mammalia, for which the latter part 
of the Tertiary or Sixth day was pre-eminently distin- 
guished, includes not only the higher quadrupedal animals 
that sustain their offspring during infancy by the secre- 
tions of milk in the mammae, but also comprises the 
human species. The class forms two divisions : the first 
known as the JDiadelphian, and the second as the Mona- 
delphian. The Diadelphian division is small, and in- 
cludes but a few living families, all of which are natives 
of America and Australia. They are distinguished for 
being furnished with pouches, by means of w^hich they 
sustain their young for a time, after bringing them forth 
in an immature condition. In some of the species, how- 
ever, as the Mexican Opossum, the pouches are not deve- 
loped ; and the young opossums seek protection of the 
mother by winding their long prehensile tails around hers, 
and grasping the fur of her back in their mouths. In 
this way, she can avoid her enemies with half a dozen of 
her progeny on her back. The Australian Kangaroo is 
the most perfect Marsupial or pouched animal now" living. 
After the birth of her young, which she brings forth 
singly, and after a gestation of only thirty-nine days, the 



308 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

mother places it in her pouch, which is situated in the 
folds of the skin below the abdomen. Here it receives 
the lacteal nourishment to sustain it until able to shift for 
itself, which it will undertake to do after a pouch-life of 
nine or ten months. It will leave the pouch occasionally, 
at intervals, during this period, but return to it on the 
least indication of danger, where it may often be seen 
peeping out, as if considering how far it might be com- 
patible with prudence to venture forth. The Kangaroo 
readily becomes domesticated, and they formerly occurred 
in large numbers in certain portions of Australia. The 
animal is also remarkable for having its kind limbs twice 
as large and long as those in front, for which reason its 
gait consists of successive leaps, instead of a walk. The 
American Opossum, so far as its pouch is concerned, is 
similar to the Kangaroo, but much smaller. Most per- 
sons who read these pages are doubtless familiar with this 
animal, as it inhabits nearly all the Middle States. In 
Australia there are three or four species of opossum be- 
longing to the Marsupial order — including, also, squirrels 
and rats. It is supposed that the extinct Thylocothe- 
rium, Phascolotherium, and some other obscure frag- 
mentary remains previously alluded to, belonged to this 
order. 

The Monadelphian division comprehends the great bulk 
of the higher animal species, including man. It is dis- 
tinguished from the Diadelphian, among numerous other 
striking features, by the full organic structure of its 
species at the time of their birth, requiring only, for a 
time, the subsequent care and nourishment of the mother. 
It comprehends no less than ten different orders, based 
principally on their organs of touch, of mastication, and 
locomotion. These orders are themselves so numerous, 
that they are subdivided into many families and groups. 
Of the first order, we have the Cetacea, comprising three 



ANIMALS OF THE TERTIARY. ^9 

families, and including tlie different varieties of whales, 
dolphins, and porpoises. The remains of living and ex- 
tinct genera of this order are plentifully diffused in the 
Tertiary, but mainly in the more recent strata. Among 
these are the remains of a gigantic animal, supposed by 
some to have been a cetacean, by others a pachyderm, 
called the Dinotherium. It is supposed to have had a 
proboscis, like the elephant, with two enormous teeth 
attached to the lower jaw, but curving downward. In 
other respects, it was fashioned somewhat like an ele- 
phant ; but is presumed to have been more aquatic than 
terrestrial in its instincts. Some writers, speculating 
upon its habits, have described it as swimming along the 
shores of lakes, and attaching itself by means of its curved 
tusks to trees, in which position it would employ its long 
trunk to feed upon the tender shoots and foliage. Its 
skull has been found in two or three instances, usually in 
the Miocene strata of the Tertiary. Another Cetacean, 
styled the Zeugloden, but formerly regarded as a reptile, 
has been found in the Eocene of Alabama. 

The order of Buminantia may be recognized by the 
structure of their feet, which terminate in two toes, in- 
closed by a bony hoof The name, however, is bestowed 
in consequence of the fact that all the species belonging to 
the order chew the cud, and have a singular organization 
of the stomach. Some zoologists assign but three fami- 
lies to it — those of camels, stags, and oxen. Others in- 
clude sheep and goats, the true position of which- seems 
to be somewhat obscure and doubtful. Including them 
with this order, it not only becomes the most numerous 
as to individual numbers, but is by far the most useful 
and important in domestic economy of any other in the 
entire range of the animal kingdom. The two-hunched 
Camel, which has been styled the ship of the desert, and 
the swift-pacing Dromedary of the Orient, are both inti- 



SIO THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

mately associated with the earliest history, and the pro- 
gressive struggles and labors of man. To the Arab they 
are alike invaluable and indispensable — furnishing him 
with food and milk, while their hair is woven into tents 
and wearing apparel, their hides converted into leather, 
and their dung into fuel. Strong hopes are indulged that 
recent efforts of our Government to acclimate and render 
available the services of the caravan-camel in the south- 
western plains of the United States, will prove eminently 
successful. Three or four years have now elapsed since 
their introduction, and though some of the anitnals have 
died, they have thus far generally exceeded the expecta- 
tions formed of them. The Dromedary differs from the 
Camel in having but one hunch on its back ; and in being 
A much swifter traveler. It is said to be able to travel 
with ease one hundred miles per day. Besides possessing 
four compartments of the stomach, from one of which 
(forming a sort of temporary repositorj^, which is peculiar 
to all Ruminantia,) the food is returned in the cud, to be 
again chewed before undergoing the usual process of 
digestion, the Camel is also furnished with a tank, by 
means of which it carries supplies of water for its own 
private use. It is thus able to resist the pangs of thirst 
to an extraordinary extent, and to traverse regions of arid 
plains where ordinary animals would perish in a day. 
The wise provision of Providence is thus exemplified in a 
most remarkable manner — adapting his creatures in every 
instance, as it would seem, to the peculiar circumstances 
which surround them. Extinct genera of the Gamelidod 
are rare. Fossil remains of them have been found in tbo 
glaciers of Siberia, while specimens of existing genera 
occur abundantly in the Eocene strata of France, Asia, 
and America. The Cervidce, or Stag family, is very nu- 
merous, and, as indicated by the name, comprehends all 
known varieties of the deer — as the Moose or Elk, the 



THE DEER, THE OX, THE SHEEP. 311 

Reindeer, the Stag or Red Deer, the Axis Deer, the Fal- 
low Deer, the Chevrotain, the Roebuck, the iiiitelope, 
and the Nyl-ghau and Cameleopard, or Giraffe. Few of 
these animals have been domesticated, and they are 
chiefly valuable for their flesh and the amusement they 
afford tha hunter. The Laplander, however, turns the 
Reindeer to practical accou^it — not only employing it in 
sledging over the snow and ice, but mainly subsisting on 
its flesh, and deriving clothing from its skins. With the 
exception of the Cameleopard and the Chevrotain, which 
are natives of Southern Africa, and the Axis deer of India, 
all the rest are found in different latitudes in America — 
most of them, ideed, as the Elk, the Stag, the Fallow 
Deer, the Roebuck, and species of the Antelope, being 
])eculiar to the United States. There is a strong family 
resemblance in all these animals — three of which are 
spotted, as the Giraffe, the Axis, and the Fallow. The 
Giraffe is remarkable for its height, long neck, and slender 
build ; but notwithstanding its seeming awkwardness, it 
-^ said to be a swift runner, and has to rely on this facul'ty 
as a means of defense or escape from its enemies. Its 
bones have been found in the sub-apennine Tertiary of 
Fpnce ; while all the later Tertiary strata, and especially 
all caverns, in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, abso- 
lutely teem with the dissevered skeletons of nearly every 
member of the order now living. They formed then, as 
they do now, a common prey to predaceous animals; 
hence the abundance of their gnawed bones in nearly all 
caverns and strata of recent formation. Extinct genera 
are rare, though not wanting. Of these, the Sivoiherium 
is supposed to have been intermediate between ruminants 
and pachyderms. The head contained horns, and, some 
persons conjecture, a proboscis also, like that of the ele- 
phant. Remains of it have been found in the later Mio- 
cene of the Himalaya mountains in India. The Gapra 



812 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

comprise the common domestic goat, the Ibex and the 
Chamois of the Swiss Alps and the mountainous regions 
of Savoj, Piedmont, and Germany, and the goats of An- 
gora and of Syria. The goat is found in nearly all climates, 
hot and cold ; is remarkably sure-footed in traversing 
mountain steeps and precipices ; generally yields nutri- 
cious and wholesome milk when herded and domesticated, 
and its skin is valuable for various purposes in manufac- 
tures and domestic economy. The sheep (ovis aries) 
comprise various species, but have been materially changed 
by domestication. Contrary, however, to all develop- 
ment hypotheses, they still continue to be sheep — having 
no more bones in their skeleton now than had the flocks 
of Abraham and Isaac. Great Britain is the principal 
Held of sheep husbandry in the world ; but certain States 
of our Union have lately been making very rapid advances, 
especially Texas. The western part of Pennsylvania, and 
the adjacent districts of Ohio and Virginia, have long 
been known for their extensive production of sheep, with 
special reference to the quality of the fleece. In England 
more attention has been given to the quality of the flesh 
than the wool ; hence John Bull is as famous for his mut- 
ton chops as for his roast beef. Speaking of roast beef, 
reminds us of the Bovidce, or Ox family. Little, however, 
need be said of them. The word oxen originally implied 
black cattle, of both sexes, and in this sense may be ap- 
plied to all the members of this extensive and valuable 
family. It comprises the domestic ox of Europe and 
America, the ox of Syria, the American Bison, the Buf- 
falo, the Indian Zebu, and the Musk ox of Hudson's Bay. 
The domestic ox formed a leading element of individual 
and national wealth in the most remote ages of antiquity 
— among the Jews tiieir skins sometimes formed a medium 
of exchange, in the absence of money. The wealth of the 
old patriarchs consisted altogether of cattle, even lands 



ANIMALS OF THE TERTIARY, 313 

being held as of secondary value. Emasculation was for- 
bidden by the Mosaic law, in view of the valuable ser- 
vices of the ox as a beast of burden, and in the general 
agricultural system of those primitive days. The property 
possessed bycoAvs of affording milk long after their young 
are withdrawn, is a feature in physiology which is said to 
pertain to no other animals. And in view of their uni- 
versal adoption into the domestic economy of man, it sug- 
gests the inference of their creation expressly for his 
benefit. The domestic oxen have been much improved 
by cross-breeding, but w^hether their condition, as a whole, 
has been strengthened or elevated, is a question which 
admits of doubt. At any rate, it need not be considered 
here. The Syrian ox differs from that known to us by 
presenting a considerable rise or protuberance over the 
fore-shoulders. The Zebu of the East Indies is an animal 
not materially different from the other species. They are 
natives of Asia, but are also found scattered throughout 
Africa. The Musk ox has a large and powerful body 
supported on short legs, and is usually found in herds of 
thirty or forty in the cold regions of North America. 
The Buffalo, although a native of Africa, is very numer- 
ous in America, and, like the Bison, forms immense herds 
on our western prairies. It is estimated that fifty thou- 
sand of these animals have been met with in single herds 
in those vast regions stretching out west of the Missis- 
sippi. Their skins are valuable, as every one who has 
wrapped himself up in the folds of a buff'alo-robo, during 
the blasts of a pitiless Nor'easter, can gratefully attest. 
Specimens of the remains of the extinct genus Lcpfilhe- 
riLim have been found in the caverns and the upper Ter- 
tiary deposits of Brazil ; while those allied to living 
specimens are quite abundant all over Asia,, Africa, Eu- 
rope, and America. Indeed, during the latter stages of 
the Tertiary, these animals were almost, if not quite, as 



314 THE SIXTPI DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

numerous as they are now ; and roved over the country 
in immense herds, hke the Buffalo of the West. 

The order of Pachydermata is so named because all its 
species are distinguished from other animals by the thick- 
ness of their skins or hides. During the Tertiary period, 
it was the most wonderful class of animals, in every re- 
spect, which ever appeared on the earth. Although much 
of its ancient character is lost, it still furnishes some of 
the largest and most powerful animals now living, as also 
some of the noblest and most esteemed. It presents but 
three families, comprehending the horse, the rhinoceros, 
and the . elephant. The horse not only includes every 
known variety of that animal, of which there are manj^, 
remarkable either for their size, their strength, speed, 
docility, or other qualities ; but also includes the ass, wild 
and domestic, the mule, and the African Zebra. The 
degree of intelligence which this animal has attained 
during his familiar intercourse with man, is no less 
astonishing than gratifying. "When we see the thousands 
of wild horses of the plains, and reflect that the noble 
animal we bestride has been reclaimed from such a condi- 
tion, and elevated to a degree of intelligence under which 
his services are invaluable, it shows the subtle power and 
majesty of mind, and evinces the perfection of that do- 
minion over the beasts of the earth, with which man was 
endowed by his Creator. And the only progressive de- 
velopment which we could ever discover in nature, is that 
wrought upon the inferior animals by the influence of 
man ; and for this he has the full sanction and express 
authority of the common parent of all. And yet, in the 
face of such influence — in the face of all efforts, whether 
dictated by sordid gain, or that vaulting ambition which 
impels some men to usurp not only temporal and civil, 
but the highest laws of nature and morality, man has been 
unable to produce a genuine race of mongrels, having the 



THE HORSE, THE HIPPOPOTAMUS, THE ELEPHANT. 315 

inherent powers of reproduction. It is true the mule 
may be regarded as a sort of hybrid between the horse 
and the ass, but both parents are alike members of the 
Equus family — they are themselves horses. Yet even the 
mule is obtained in violation of all the instincts of the 
mother ; and nature has affixed the stamp of barrenness 
upon the offspring, as if to condemn and to arrest further 
innovations upon creative order. Nature, however, seems 
to have sanctioned the production of this animal for a 
special purpose, since it is endowed with qualities 
possessed by neither of its progenitors. Such is its 
sure-footedness that it can ascend and descend mountain 
passes and declivities, where unaided man himself would 
hesitate to venture. In the Andes and the Alps, the 
mule does not descend by steps, but drawing its feet close 
together, and falling back on its haunches, it slides down 
the steepest^ mountain slopes, bearing her rider or freight 
in safety to the base. No other animal could do this, or 
could ever be induced to try it ; for it requires not only 
extraordinary agility and suppleness of the limbs, but a 
cool daring of instinct, which seems to be an innate 
peculiarity of the mule. But while mongrels, prodigies, 
and monsters may be produced, — if for no other end than 
to warn man against the enormity of the abuse, — nature, 
in no instance, permits their perpetuation. The natural 
vitality of the true species will either absorb them, or their 
own deformity entails the inability of reproduction. This 
fact, which is alike fatal to the idea of development or of 
degradation, will account for some of those apparent 
anomalies in the ancient zoology, which have puzzled 
modern anatomists. Nature produced monsters then, as 
she does now ; but they were always confined to single 
individuals. Fossil remains of the horse, the ass, and the 
zebra, have been found in the upper Tertiary veins, in all 
parts of the world ; but I believe they always indicate an 



316 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOCHCAL. 

identity witli tlie existing species, and thus point to the 
fact, not without interest, that, notwithstanding all the 
local changes which the animal has undergone, the family, 
as a whole, remains precisely where nature originally 
placed it in the scale of created life. 

Belonging to the pachyderms proper, there is a large 
group both of extinct and living species. Among the latter, 
— to which some of the former were closely related, — are 
the hippopotamus, the wild boar, the hog, the peccary, the 
tapir, and the rhinoceros. The hippotamus is one of the 
most compact and powerful animals ever created, and is 
well described by Job, who, indeed, appears to have been 
a naturalist of the highest ability. " He moveth his tail 
like a cedar ; the sinews of his thighs are wrapped together. 
His bones are as strong pieces of brass : his bones are like 
bars of iron. He is the chief of the ways of God ; he who 
made him hath furnished him with his sword. Surely the 
mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of 
the field play. He lieth under the shady trees, in the 
covert of the reed, and fens. The shady trees cover him 
with their shadow ; the willows of the brook compass him 
about. Behold, should the river swell, he hasteneth not ; 
he is fearless should even the Jordan come up to his 
mouth. Who can take him openly, or draw a cord 
through his nose ?" The hippopotamus, as indicated by 
the sacred writer, is an amphibious animal, but not car- 
nivorous. It feeds exclusively on herbage, and such is 
the enormous capacity of its stomach, that it can hold six 
or seven bushels of half-chewed vegetable matter. A 
hippopotamus on exhibition in the Zoological Gardens of 
Regent's Park, London, has brought forth young on two 
or three occasions, and we observe, by a paragraph in the 
newspapers, that she invariably destroys them shortly 
after birth. Whether this is generally peculiar to the 
animal in its unrestrained condition is of course hardly 



THE RHINOCEROS, THE TAPIR, ETC. 31 1 

probable ; if it be, then nature has undoubtedly made some 
provision for the escape and support of the young, or 
otherwise the species would long since have been extinct. 
Remains of this animal have been found in the Tertiary 
and alluvium of Europe, Asia, and North America. The 
rhinoceros, in its general appearance, is not much unlike 
the hippopotamus. The former is distinguished by a 
sharp horn issuing from its nose, with which it can gore 
and lacerate any animal bold enough to attack it, and by 
a long tail terminating in a switch. The other animal has 
quite a short and stumpy tail, and no nasal tusk. The 
hide of the rhinoceros is so hard that it often resists a 
rifle-ball, while the claws of the tiger and the lion make 
but little impression upon it, except in vulnerable spots. 
It is said to be fond of wallowing in muddy pools and flats 
in the vicinity of large rivers. Its present habitat is the 
East Indies, especially in the valley of the Ganges. 
That of the hippopotamus is principally in the south of 
Africa. The rhinoceros is believed to include ten or more 
species, of which at least four have been identified in the 
upper Tertiary of Europe. The tapir of South America 
represents a. genus of animals which appear to have been 
numerous at some places, during the upper Tertiary 
period. It presents some resemblance to the hog, the 
hippopotamus, and the elephant — though its present size 
hardly exceeds that of the animal first named. Its skin is 
remarkably hard and tough, and has but a thin coating of 
bristling hair. Its tail is stumpy, its legs short and thick, 
terminating in hoofed toes, and its upper jaw is furnished 
with a fleshy prolongation or incipient proboscis, similar 
to that of the elephant, b\it not one-fourth the comparative 
length. The animal is amiable in its habits, and is easily 
domesticated. Its flesh is eaten by the Indians of South 
America, and is said to be as palatable as that of most 
Qtb'^r herbivorous animals. The genus Laphiodon of the 



318 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

Miocene, of which twelve species have been found, and 
the Paleotherium of the Eocene, were both very similar 
to the existing tapir. The size of the ancient animals, 
however, varied considerably — some having been scarcely 
larger than a hare, while others attained the ordinary 
proportions of a horse. Other varieties of the extinct 
tapir combined the structural peculiarities of the horse, 
the hog, the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, and the 
camel. 

There were five or six extinct genera, each of which 
was distinguished by some peculiarity of structure, which 
it is not necessary here to describe. The wild Boar, 
which belongs to the Pachyderm order, is generally con- 
sidered to be the parent of the domestic swine. From the 
fact that his upper snout is furnished with tusks, we 
think this proposition rather questionable. The domestic 
swine are, no doubt, derived from progenitors originally 
wild and ferocious ; but, they were very probably a differ- 
ent genus from the tusked animal now existing. The 
Mexican peccary is very similar to swine, but instead of 
two, one of its species (the Bahiroussa) has four tusks ; 
and yet there is no instance of a hybrid race among them. 
The peccary is gregarious, exceedingly ferocious, and 
lives principally on roots and vegetables. The remains 
of animals allied to the existing genera of swine have been 
found, but somewhat meagrely, in the upper strata of the 
Tertiary. The domestic variety is recent, and was no 
doubt created for the office of scavenger, for which his 
habits and instincts incomparably qualify him. If, indeed, 
he is not remarkable for the fastidiousness of his appetite 
and general deportment, it may be said to his palliation 
that man, with a great deal more pretention, is scarcely 
more so ; since he does not hesitate t«. devour the very 
animals whose valuable services as a common scavenger 



THE PECCARY, THE HOG, THE ELEPHANT. 319 

he affects to despise ! Tempus edax rerum, and so does 



man 



The family of Elephants forms tlie remaining group of 
tlie order of Pachydermata. The living species are found 
in Africa and Asia, but the size of those of the latter is 
considerably greater than the former. They seldom ex- 
i^eed ten feet in height, or four thousand pounds in weight. 
They are regarded as an unusually intelligent animal, but 
it is doubtful whether they are capable of higher mental 
culture than dogs or horses. They have been extensively 
employed in wars, in caravans, and in the pompous 
pageants and processions of the East, and have thus had 
the full benefit of a long and close intercourse with man, 
by which means the intelligence of the species has been 
developed. The proboscis of the elephant is prehensile, 
and is made up of no less than forty thousand aggregated 
muscles, curiously interlaced. It possesses amazing 
strength and flexibility, and with the enormous ivory 
tusks, forms a leading feature in the appearance and struc- 
ture of the animal. During the Tertiary period, the 
family of Elephants included several varieties now ex- 
tinct. Among these were the Mastodons, of which there 
were several genera. They were considerably longer 
and somewhat higher than the living elephants, and ap- 
pear to have been very numerous all over the world. 
Their bones have been exhumed in great abundance in 
the valleys of the Ohio and the Mississippi, and in the 
States of New York and Virginia. The ivory obtained 
from the tusks of extinct elephants has, from the most re- 
mote ages, formed no inconsiderable item of commercci 
and manufactures. Each tusk usually attains a length of 
eight feet ; and the supplies of the world, for the last cen- 
tury, have been principally derived from Russia, where 
the antiseptic qualities of the frigid climate have no doubt 
tended to their preservation. Tusks from the living 
21 



320 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL 

species still constitute a principal trade among the na- 
tives of Africa. 

The Edentata is an order which presents a transition 
from those previously described, in the form of the hoof, 
which is in them superseded by claws or toes armed with 
nails for scratching and digging. There are three or four 
families — two of which are represented by the living ant- 
eaters and the armadillos ; the others, long since extinct, 
by the gigantic Megatherium. The Sloths, which in- 
clude two genera not materially different, were for a long 
time a great puzzle to zoologists, who could not reconcile 
the structure of their limbs with the usual ambulatory 
movements of such nnimals. It was finally ascertained, 
however, that in tlioir native forests, they were in the 
habit of traveling from tree to tree by means of the con- 
necting limbs, and, the better to facilitate their move- 
ments, always selected windy days, when the branches 
would be brought in closer connection ; but unlike squir- 
rels, they traveled with their bodies suspended under the 
limbs, and their feet upward, like flies adhering to a ceil- 
ing. It was ascertained that they also slept in this novel 
position, and, in short, reversed the usual order of nature 
in all their movements. The animal called the Ant-eater 
is generally about four feet long, exclusive of tail, and is 
provided with a bird-like snout, serving as a sheath for a 
long pointed tongue, which it thrusts into an ant-hill, and 
withdraws coated with the living prey. It is found with 
the Sloth in Africa, but its chief country is South America. 
There are three extinct genera of this family, all of which 
are found in the pampas and caverns of South America, 
with the remains of those of existing genera. The second 
family comprehends the manis and the armadillos — all of 
which are inclosed in scaly coats- of-mail. The manis is 
also an ant-eater, but unlike the others (which are clothed 
with hair), it has a long lizard-like body, pointed snout. 



THE SLOTH, THE MEGATHERIUM, ETC. 321 

and short legs with long pointed claws. Its length is 
usually about eight feet, of which the tail comprises one- 
half. True to its serpentine instincts, it rolls itself up on 
the approach of danger, and, by means of its hard osseous 
scales, intimidates the boldest denizens of the wilderness. 
This is also peculiar to the armadillos, whose horny cov- 
ering is arranged into flexible sections for that purpose. 
They are all burrowers, feeding upon roots and vege- 
tables, and fly to their holes on the apprehension of dan- 
ger. The armadillos, unlike the manis, have the general 
form of swine, though in one variety the body and tail 
are considerably elongated. The extinct genera of this 
family were very numerous during the Tertiary, and one 
of them, the Glyptodon, attained extraordinary dimen- 
sions, and had some resemblance to the Megatherium. 
This animal was nearly as large as an elephant, and its 
skull was similar to that of the Sloth. Its mouth pos- 
sessed gigantic power, and, like the other monsters which 
distinguished the Tertiary, was well adapted for crushing 
the roots upon which it fed. Its feet were large and 
armed with tremendous claws, and the " entire frame was 
an apparatus of colossal mechanism, adapted exactly to 
the work it had to do ; strong and ponderous in propor- 
tion as this work was heavy, and calculated to be the 
vehicle of life and enjoyment to a gigantic race of quadru- 
peds,, which, though they have ceased to be counted 
among the living inhabitants of our planet, have, in their 
fossil bones, left behind them imperishable monuments of 
the consummate skill with which they were constructed. 
Each limb and fragment of a limb formed co-ordinate parts 
of a well-adjusted whole ; and, through all their deviations 
from the form and proportion of the limbs of other quad- 
rupeds, affording fresh proofs of the infinitely varied and 
inexhaustible contrivances of creative wisdom."* One 

* Dr. Buckland, Bridgewater Treatise, p. 164. 



322 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

of the most extraordinary animals of the Edentata order 
is the hedge-hog, of which several varieties are found in 
Australia. Like all the other ant-eaters, it has a long 
slender beak, with a prehensile tongue ; short feet equipped 
with jclaws, and a body shaped like that of the domestic 
pig ; but instead of scales or hair, it is covered with a 
substance resembling feathers, which serve to turn the 
rain like those of fowls. Another variety of the animal 
has the bill of the duck, and is called the Ornithorhynchus 
in consequence. This, however, is coated with hair. 
They all burrow in the ground, and swim and dive in the 
shallow rivers for food, precisely like ducks, for which 
purpose they also have webbed feet. The common Euro- 
pean hedgehog Las also a long pointed snout, but its 
food consists mainly of insects, worms, and fruits. Its 
armor is something like that of the porcupine, and, rolling 
itself into a round ball, its bristling points keep its nu- 
merous enemies at bay. It is a harmless and inoffensive 
animal, and though in many respects resembling the ant- 
eaters, it belongs to another order of animals. 

The order of Rodentia, which is the fifth in the Mam- 
malian series, comprises all animals distinguished for their 
gnawing propensities, and of which squirrels, mice, and 
rats are familiar and somewhat obtrusive examples. The 
squirrels embrace many genera, distinguished principally 
by color or some other minor features — as the red, the 
gray, the black, the ground, the flying, and the long-tailed 
varieties. The rats also comprise many different groups, 
as those popularl}^ known as the house, the field, the ship, 
the water, and the musk rats. The mouse is equally 
varied in type, and even more numerous. Besides these, 
the marmot, the beaver, the porcupine, the hare, the rab- 
bit, the guinea pig, the cavy and the chinchilla of South 
America, all belong to the gnawing fraternity. The dental 
apparatus of these animals is well calculated to subserve 



RATS, SQUIRRELS, BEAVERS, HARES, ETC. 323 

their natural proclivities and habits — the teeth growing 
as rapidly as they are worn down, and being formed in 
such a way that they answer the same purpose as a file 
and chisel. The beavers are thus able to cut and rasp 
down considerable trees, while the rats and mice gnaw 
their way to the secret recesses of spoils and plunder. 
All these animals, but more especially the rats and mice, 
have an uncomprojnising enemy in man, as well as in the 
feline and canine races ; yet such is their wonderful pro- 
lificacy, that they still maintain their ground, and this, 
too, in the face of their own intestine wars and cannibal 
appetites. Like the persecuted Jew, they are found all 
over the earth, on the sea and on the land ; in the pal- 
aces of the rich and the lowly hovels of the poor ; in the 
well-filled granaries of the farmer and in the filthy sewers 
and subterranean recesses of the city. Essentially cos- 
mopolitan, like the descendants of poor Cain, they are 
" fugitives and vagabonds" wherever they may go, and 
have no friends on whom they can rely in the hour of 
peril, even among their own species or around their own 
domestic hearth. In China, indeed, their social position 
is somewhat superior to that occupied in republican 
America or under the constitutional monarchy of Eng- 
land ; yet, even there, they are only recognized at the 
festive board, where they are invariably involved in the 
stews and broils of the bill of fare ! 

The fur of the squirrel, and of some of the rats, the bea- 
ver, and the hare, was formerly of some value, but they 
have all depreciated of late years with the progress of 
textile manufactures. Nearly all these creatures abound 
in America, and it would be useless to occupy space with 
a description. The fossil genera in the Tertiary are nu- 
merous, embracing no less than five or six difi'erent types, 
while the remains of those still living are widely diffused 
in caverns and the modern alluvial deposits. 



324 THE SIXTH DAY — (JEOLOGICAL. 

The Cheiroptera embrace the different genera of bats, 
of which there are four or five, among them the ternate or 
vampire of the East Indies. The bat has its claws or 
fingers elongated to stretch out a thin membrane, like a 
fan, by means of which it flies. It is covered with a deli- 
cate fur, like the mouse, and ventures forth at night, gen- 
erally preferring for its nocturnal haunts old, dilapidated, 
and abandoned buildings. The vampire of India is a 
blood-sucker, and is so insidious in its attacks upon per- 
sons asleep, that instances have occurred of their bleeding 
to death in bed. The wound is generally inflicted on the 
foot, add it is so small that it hardly exceeds the puncture 
of a pin ; yet from this the animal will suck enormous 
quantities of blood, which will continue to flow long after 
it has gorged itself to repletion. All the fossil species of 
this order are identical with those now living, and they 
are found in nearly all the later strata of the Tertiary, and 
the caverns of the modern era. Their fossils are mainly 
confined to Europe and South America, where the living 
species still flourish extensively. 

The order of Amphibia is made up of seals, embracing 
the marine and river seal, the sea-bear, the sea-lion, and 
the sea-horse or walrus. Their extremities are so modi- 
fied that they all swim with ease and dexterity. Their 
principal habitat is in the cold latitudes of the North — 
especially Greenland, ISTova Zembla, and Hudson's Bay. 
The common seal is a long animal, gradually tapering 
from the middle to the head and tail, and provided with 
two legs, which answer the purpose of paddles in swim- 
ming. In some genera the head is thick and massive, 
and in others tapering from the neck, like that of the 
leopard. The sea-lion has its legs in front, with an 
enormous breast and neck ; the sea-horse or walrus has a 
much larger body, and, in addition, is supplied with two 
V)ng and sharp tusk?, whicli lie uses in climbing and in 



THE LION, THE TIGER, THE PANTHER, ETC. 325 

grappling sea-weeds. The sea-horse may be seen in 
large numbers sitting on floating ice or along the margins 
of northern seas, keeping up a low bellowing. The sea- 
lion is not materially different in its habits, but, contrary 
to the general impression, they are said to be courageous 
and determined, and not readily repulsed if attacked. 
The old animals roar tremendously, while the younger 
ones and the calves bellow like sheep. Fossil specimens 
of this order have been found in Miocene beds of England 
and France. 

The eighth order is composed of the Carnivora proper, 
and comprehends the great bulk of mammalian animals. 
The felis, or cat group, embraces lions, tigers, panthers, 
jaguars, leopards, pumas, lynxes, and the wild and do- 
mestic cat. The dogs, or canines, include the mastiff, 
the bull-dog, the gray-hound, the blood-hound, the terrier, 
the Newfoundland, the Mackenzie river, the Esquimaux, 
and the St. Bernard dogs ; besides the wolf, the fox, and 
the jackall. The ursus, or bear type, include all the va- 
rieties of that animal, as well as the raccoon, the badger, 
and the ratel. The civet, the ichneumon, the weasel, the 
ferret, the pole-cat, the sable, the otter, etc., comprise 
other and independent varieties. 

From his powerful build, his extraordinary agility, and 
his unflinching courage, zoologists have assigned the lion 
the first rank in the brute creation. Some travelers, how- 
ever, who have seen the lion and the tiger in their native 
jungles, assign greater courage and equal strength and 
agility to the latter ; and it is questionable whether the 
high position usually awarded the former, might not be 
successfully contested. The lion seldom weighs over five 
hundred pounds, is from four to six feet high in front, nn-l 
seven to nine in length. His jaws, which are enormous, 
operate like the cutting edges of shears — the lower jaw 
moving in an upward and downward direction, but not in 



326 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

a lateral or horizontal one. In this, as in many other re- 
spects, all the felines are readily distinguished from the 
ruminants, who grind their cuds by a sort of circular pro- 
cess. The padded paws of the felines, added to their 
muscular development, also give them an exceedingly 
soft and graceful movement, while the whole carriage of 
the lion is lofty in the highest degree. The African lion 
is by far the largest and the most spirited, and holds un- 
disputed sway over all the feline species, if not over all 
the brutes of the earth. The lioness is usually smaller 
than the male, is destitute of his flowing main, and some- 
what different in structure. She produces two or more 
at a birth, and watches her young with much care and 
jealous solicitude, in which her lord heartily co-operates. 
The tiger, although his general appearance is different, 
resembles the lion in many particulars of his structure, in 
size, habits, and inherent propensities. His coat is yellow, 
but regularly banded with stripes of black, which extend 
over the head, legs, and tail. His height varies from 
three to four feet, and his length from six to nine. He is 
more slender than the lion, and less bold ; but has all the 
gracefulness of a kitten. The tigress is also a careful 
mother, and will encounter any danger in behalf of her 
young. The tiger is found around the deserts of Asia, 
and in the East Indian Islands, but his chief habitat in 
modern times is Hindostan and China. The Royal 
Bengal tiger is the model of his species, and one cf the 
most magnificent animals in the world. Singapore, an 
island twenty-five miles long, in the eastern archipelago, 
means the place of lions ; but for a long time the term has 
been inappropriate, since the lions have been extinguished, 
and their place supplied by tigers. This would support 
the inference already suggested, that the tiger is probably 
the strongest and most terrible in combat of the two. 
The tigers live in the tall grass and jungles of the island, 



THE LEOPARD, THE JAGUAR, THE CHETAH, etC. 32T 

but a large number swim over fr||m the peninsula, from 
which it is separated about a mile. Here they watch the 
movements of the Malay and Chinese laborers, as they go 
to the fields to work, and suddenly springing upon them, 
a single blow on the back of the neck, w^hich they break, 
lays them dead upon the ground. It is stated, on high 
authority, that from three to four hundred persons are 
killed annually in Singapore by these ferocious monsters. 
Though large rewards are offered by the government for 
their destruction, besides which the skin is worth fifty 
dollars, but little progress has been made in their exter- 
mination. The leopard, it is generally thought, is of the 
same genera as the jaguar and the panther — there being, 
in fact, but little difl'erence except in the spots of the skin. 
They are natives of Africa, but are found in equal 
abundance in India. In size they are inferior to the tiger, 
the panther, or the jaguar. The leopard has a white and 
yellow skin, dotted with irregular dark spots ; the jaguar's 
is similar, but the spots are much larger, while that of the 
panther is a dark yellow, with compound or rosette spots 
— that is, dark rings with black dots in the interior. The 
panther is found generally throughout Asia and Africa, 
and certain genera exist in America. The jaguar, how- 
ever, is known only in South America, and abounds 
principally in Brazil and Paraguay. Xearly all the 
animals thus far mentioned, except the lion and tiger, are 
expert climbers, and often pursue their prey to the tops 
of trees. Humboldt, in his Aspects of Nature, says the 
yell of the jaguar may be heard in the forests of Brazil, 
mingled with the shrill long screeches of the monkeys, as 
they leap in terror from tree to tree. Horses, cattle, sheep, 
monkeys, fish, turtles, snakes, birds — all these are the in- 
discriminate and varied victims of the animal. The 
chetah of India, is a leopard which approaches some of 
the qualities of the cat, though it is greatly larger. It 



828 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

has been trained for J.iunting the wild antelope, but has 
not been thoroughly tamed or domesticated. The puma 
is a native of North and South America, and has some- 
times been called the American lion; but, as compared 
with the African congener, he reflects little credit upon 
his native heath. In South America he is hunted with 
dogs, and then lassoed ; or if the dogs pursue him to his 
refuge in the branches of a tree, he is dispatched with a 
rifle-ball. He is a thin gaunt animal, of a dirty yellowish 
color, but has the powerful limbs and paws of the lion and 
tiger. The ounce is a rare animal, one or two specimens 
of which have been obtained in India, but whether it 
exists to any extent in other parts of Asia or of Africa, 
has not been ascertained. It is supposed to form a 
distinct species of the feline group. It is spotted like the 
leopard, but its hair, is long and somewhat shaggy. The 
ocelot is another native of South America, and has a skin 
remarkable for its brilliance and beauty. The prevailing 
yellow of the leopard, in this animal, is tinged with a 
tawny hue, and covered with long reddish-black spots, 
which extend to all its limbs. Like all the others, it is an 
expert climber, and lies concealed among the foliage of 
trees, ready to pounce upon monkeys, or other animals of 
inferior strength. It is difficult to tame, and has the repu- 
tation of being the most restless and ferocious of the feline 
race, though it will avoid dogs until hard pressed. The 
lynx is celebrated for its clear and extended vision, and 
for its wide geographical distribution. It was, and is 
still found in nearly all parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, 
and America, but with ever-varying local characteris- 
tics, especially in the quality of its fur — all of which may 
be attributed to the effects of climate, and to other 
physical circumstances. The skins of the lynx comprise 
a leading item in the fur trade of Russia, America, and 
the British provinces. It used to be very numerous 



THE OUNCE, THE CAT, THE LYNX, ETC. 329 

around our northern lakes ; and the Hudson's Bay- 
company, not many years ago, obtained from six to nine 
thousand skins annually. But the lynx has now nearly 
disappeared in that quarter, and the fur trade has dwindled 
to a mere cipher, compared with what it was fifty years 
ago. The ancient haunts of the wild beast, and the no 
less savage Indian, are now becoming the abodes of 
civilized man ; and the beautiful transparent lakes which 
separate our states from the British possessions, are fur- 
rowed by the steam and the sailing vessel, instead of the 
frail fur-laden barges of the red man, seeking the far- 
off stations of the traders. The fur of the lynx is long, 
soft, and silky, and presents a delicate brownish gray 
aspect. It was always held in high repute in the market, 
but varied in value from three to thirty dollars each. The 
animal, in its natural condition, is as playful as the lamb; 
nevertheless it feasts upon the weaker animals, and from 
its position among the branches of trees, often pounces 
upon deer and sheep, whose blood affords a rare delicacy. 
The wild cat is supposed by some naturalists to be iden- 
tical with the domestic animal ; but this has been denied. 
The structure, it is true, presents no perceptible difference ; 
but the color of the wild cat is generally steadfast with 
the local species, while that of the domestic animal is 
constantly varying, even with the same brood. Besides, 
the wild cat is thought to be irreclaimably ferocious; and 
there is no known instance of its having been tamed and 
domesticated. The wild animal sometimes attains an enor- 
mous size — the domestic animal varies but little. There 
is a peculiarity in the formation of the eye of the cat, and 
to some extent in all the feline family, by which they are 
enabled to see to better advantage at night than during 
the day — Whence their predaceous instincts are strictly noc- 
turnal. Although cats are not named in the Bible, they 
were domesticated among the Egyptians, and mummies 



330 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

of them have been found in Thebes, and sculptured figures 
on the monuments of the Pharaohs. 

The Canine family includes our good friend Ponto, 
whose wonderful sagacity is referred to by Mr. Alfred 
Jingle, in the Pickwick Papers. If there is one feature 
more prominent than another to distinguish him from 
other animals, it is his extraordinary friendship, fidelity, 
and devotion to man. No matter who or what you are, 
or where you go, your faithful dog, like the devoted 
spouse of Wilkins Micawber, "will never desert you." 
The lonely hermit in the wilderness ; the traveler by the 
wayside ; the miser counting his greasy gold ; the shop- 
keeper amid his wares ; the children romping on the hills, 
or the family mansion sheltering its sleeping inmates — all 
are jealously guarded by this faithful watchman, quick to 
give the alarm, and often bold to pursue and seize the 
stealthy invader. The dog is the only real and disinter- 
ested friend which man can rely upon through all the 
changing phases of worldly fortune. He is the first to 
welcome you home, and the last and most reluctant in his 
conge. He shares with you all the excitements of the 
hunt ; points out the fluttering game, runs down the 
bounding deer, pursues the fox to his hole, and the climber 
to his tree ; and, at the risk of his own life, will attack the 
bear, the tiger, or the lion, to save yours I Of the differ- 
ent species, it may be remarked in brief that the Mastiff 
is, par excellence, the house-dog. He is large and stately, 
with immense ears, a long tail, and possesses unusual in- 
telligence, and a demeanor dignified, quiet, and unobtru- 
sive. The Bull-dog has a short stumpy tail, a thick head, 
or snub nose, short ears, and a surly demeanor. His 
courage, however, is wonderful, and he will give battle 
with his last expiring breath. An old law of England 
once required that no bull should be slaughtered until he 
had first been baited. This act was passed by Parliament 



THE DOG. 331 

expresisj to encourage the amusement of bull-baiting ; 
and it was owing to the universality of this barbarous 
sport that the peculiar character of the bull-dog was de- 
veloped. In seizing cattle, the bull-dog generally attacks 
the lip, the tongue, the eye, or some other vulnerable part 
of the face, where he often hangs until released by the 
complete mutilation or dismemberment of the organ. 
This dog, unlike most of the species, attacks his enemy 
without barking ; and, when occasion seems to justify it, 
he will not hesitate to attack a man. Although bull- 
baiting has long since lost its ancient respectability in 
England, the stamina of the ox and the fierce expression 
of the dog have been daguerreotyped on the national 
character, if not sometimes upon individual feature 1 The 
sobriquet of John Bull is consequently not only signifi- 
cant, but it is 6?opf-matically appropriate. Of hounds, 
there are three rather distinct characters — the blood, the 
gray, and the fox hounds. The blood-hound is the largest, 
and has considerable resemblance to the mastiff. His ears 
and tail are long, his forehead broad, nostrils wide and 
long, and face narrow. He is distinguished for the accu- 
racy and perfection of his scent, in consequence of which 
he has often been employed in war to hunt down the 
enemy, especially negroes, and midnight robbers. He 
has been termed the policeman of the canine family ; but 
his fondness for blood often renders him also an execu- 
tioner. He is even now employed in portions of the 
South, and very extensively in Cuba. The gray-hound is 
an exceedingly light and fragile animal, and is the swift- 
est dog of the chase. Its powers of scent are very infe- 
rior, however, and it is only valuable for its extraordinary 
speed in pursuit of game. The fox-hound is more remark- 
able for its powers of endurance in the chase than for 
swiftness or accuracy of scent. In form it is not materi- 
ally different from the blood-hound, except that it la 



332 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLO(iICAL. 

generally lighter and smaller. The terrier has some re 
semblance to the bull-dog, with which he has often been 
crossed ; but its instincts are more particularly directed 
against rats. Another species, however, is a good field- 
hunter, and likes the pursuit of larger game, as the fox, 
the squirrel, and the opossum. The Lurcher may justly 
be termed the natural thief of the race. He has a sneak- 
ing look, and a shaggy, ill-conditioned coat — in his perso- 
nal appearance rather a Jacques Strops than a seedy 
Robert Macaire. He has a fine scent, which serves at 
night the same purpose as the dark lantern of the burglar. 
He pounces upon his victims without any premonitory 
barks or growls, and sneaks away as stealthily as he came. 
His robberies became so notorious in England, in connec- 
tion with professional poachers, that the breed was finally 
proscribed by law, and has lately been nearly extinguished. 
Specimens of more or less purity, however, may be found 
in the United States, and in almost every village or way- 
side cottage. The common cur unfortunately has but too 
large an infusion of his thieving propensities, with the 
additional one of barking furiously at every passing 
object. This latter quality w^as never borrowed — it is 
inherent in the very nature of the cur — of all curs, whether 
canine or human. We now turn to three varieties of the 
dog, whose noble bearing, fine proportions, industrious 
habits, general intelligence, and benevolence of character, 
it is pleasing to contemplate. These are all inhabitants 
of cold, dreary, and inhospitable climes, as if adversity 
subdued the baser instincts, and nourished onl}^ the nobler 
and more generous impulses of the canine race ! The 
Esquimaux dog has the ears of a fox, with the head of a 
wolf. His tail is large and bushy, and curls into two 
coils over his back. His body is protected from the cold 
blasts and snows of his native region by long and fine 
hair. To the natives he is perfectly indispensable — in 



THE BULL-DOG, THE TERRIER, THE LURCHER, ETC. 333 

fact, without liis services they could-not long survive. 
Harnessed in teams to sledges, they travel at the rate of 
sixty miles per day over snow and ice. The teams are 
preceded by a leader, who follows the instructions of the 
driver. Furnished with a keen scent, they will pursue 
their way through the most tremendous storms of snow, 
and endure the most intense privations and fatigues. 
Besides transporting burdens on sledges, these dogs are 
skillful hunters, and invariably assist the Esquimaux in 
capturing the seal, the reindeer, and the bear. They have 
not the docility of our domestic dog, because their masters 
are themselves deficient in the elements essential to im- 
part it ; but they are in all respects intelligent, u.sefu], and 
reliable ; and, in the position which discerning Nature has 
assigned them, are infinitely more valuable, in a compara- 
tive sense, than the horse is to us. The Newfoundland 
dog is often six feet in length, from his nose to the tip of 
the tail, which latter is seldom over two feet. His weight 
and general proportions correspond, from which it will be 
seen that he is the giant of the canine family. He is a 
splendid-looking animal, and combines with unsurpassed 
strength the gentleness of a lamb. If the blood-hound is 
the policeman, the lurcher the thief, the bull-dog the 
butcher, the Esquimaux dog the traveler, the mastiff the 
watchman, and the gray-hound the sportsman, then we can 
recognize in the Newfoundland dog the old-fashioned 
country gentleman. Compared with the others, his de- 
portment is dignified and courtly ; but unlike his modern 
congeners of the human family — (the conventional gentle- 
men whose exquisite polish, like the daguerreotype, 
always reveals the parvenue) — he is eminently practical, 
and devotes the faculties with which nature has endowed 
him to the use and benefit of man. In the snowy regions 
of Newfoundland he is an important auxiliary to the 
woodman, and, harnessed in sledges, draws the wood from 



334 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

the forest to the landing without the aid of a superintend- 
ing driver. He also carries messages and packages ; and 
being an excellent swimmer and diver, for which he is 
provided with webbed feet, his services are often equally 
eflBcient in the water as on land; and he has rescued many 
an individual from a watery grave. Unlike other dogs, 
his aquatic habits extend so far that he can make a meal 
of fish, whether cooked or raw. Bjn'on had a Newfound- 
land dog, called Boatswain, to which he was greatly at- 
tached, and upon the death of the faithful animal, he 
erected a little monument to his memory at Newstead 
Abbey. The following epitaph was perhaps only a grate- 
ful tribute to the real merits of the poor animal : 

" When some proud son of man returns to earth, 
Unknown to glory but upheld by birth, 
The sculptor's art exhausts the pomp of vroe, 
And storied urns record who rests below ; 
When all is done, upon the tomb is seen, 
Not what he was, but what he should have been ; 
But the poor dog, in life the firmest friend, 
The first to welcome, the foremost to defend, 
Whose honest heart is still his master's own. 
Who labors, fights, lives, breathes for him alone, 
Unhonored falls, unnoticed all his worth. 
Denied in heaven the soul he held on earth : 
While man, vain insect! hopes to be forgiven. 
And claims himself a sole exclusive heaven. 
Oh, man! thou feeble tenant of an hour, 
Debased by slavery, or corrupt by power, 
Who knows thee well must quit thee with disgust, 
Degraded mass of animated dust ! 
Thy love is lust, thy friendship all a cheat, 
Thy smiles hypocrisy, thy words deceit ! 
By nature vile, ennobled but by name, 
Each kindred brute might bid thee blush for shamo. 
Ye ! who perchance behold this simple urn, 
Pass on — it honors none you wish to mourn : 
To mark a friend's remains these stones arise ; 
I never knew but one — and here he lies." 



ESQUIMAUX AND NEWFOUNDLAND DOGS. 335 

Near one of the most savage passes of the Alps, on the 
great Mount St. Beraard, is located the convent of that 
name, inhabited bv a society of monks who devote their 
lives to the entertainment and rescue of travelers who may 
be overtaken by snow storms or avalanches of frozen 
sleet, ice, and earth. Such are the dangers of this fright- 
ful mountain gulf, that many travelers are constantly and 
unavoidably lost, being suddenly overtaken and buried in 
snow-drifts, or killed by the descending avalanches, which 
sometimes carry large masses of rock, earth, and trees 
with them over the frowning precipices. The good monks 
have reared a race of dogs to assist them in their benevo- 
lent and angelic labors : and such is the degree of intelli- 
gence and efficiency which they have acquired, that they 
have been the instruments of rescuing numbers of unfor- 
tunate travelers, and conducting them safely to the cheer-s 
ful hearth of the convent. Every dog is furnished with a 
bottle of spirits suspended around his neck, or a cloak or 
blanket, intended for the benefit of the exhausted way- 
farer. The scent of the dogs is so keen that they can 
readily trace a man in the snow, although he may be 
buried many feet beneath the surface. When an unfor- 
tunate is thus found, the dogs raise a vociferous barking, 
which is the signal for the monks to come to their aid. 
In many instances bodies are found after life is extinct, 
when they are conveyed to the convent and preserved for 
the future identification of their friends or relations. On 
one occasion, a mother was crossing the mountain with 
her son, a lad of some seven or eight years. An ava- 
lanche overtook her, and buried her in the snow. When 
the dogs arrived, she had already perished ; but the boy 
had sufficient strength and intelligence to mount the back 
of one of the animals, and was thus borne in safety to the 
convent. This dog for some years after, carried a medal 
commemorating the event, but finally perished himself 
22 



3^ a?HiE SIXTH DAY — QEOLOQICAX. 

while engaged in his benevolent work. Such incidents as 
these raise the animal above the level of his species, and 
challenge our highest admiration and gratitude. The St. 
Bernard dog is a large and fine-looking animal, with long 
hair, and a bushy curling tail. His fafce expresses intelli- 
gence and docility in the highest degree. There are 
several other varieties of the dog, as the spaniels, the 
mongrels, the poodles, etc. ; but, after contemplating the 
character of the St. Bernard, it would be a degrading re- 
flection on that noble animal to speak of any others, and 
especially such as we have indicated. While there is an 
extraordinary variety in the size, color, habits, and in- 
stincts of the race, it is a no less singular fact that their 
physiological and osseous structure is invariably the same. 
The little lap-dog, with his red ribbon and bell, and his 
passe nurse and mistress, has exactly the same number of 
bones as the giant of Newfoundland. The conformation 
of all is the same ; the deviations are merely local, to meet 
the requirements of the position to which the Creator has 
consigned them. 

The Canine group, however, is not confined to dogs. 
It also includes the wolf, the fox, and the hyena. The 
wolf has a keen scent, and, like the rest of the canine 
race, is a good hunter. The deer of the forest, and the 
sheep and oxen of the field, often fall a prey to his vora- 
cious jaws. Under circumstances of intense hunger, he 
has not hesitated to attack man ; but the instances of this 
are few, A species of wolf is still very numerous and 
predaceous in the plains of the South and West, and they 
are very unpleasant neighbors to the frontier settlers and 
the "squatter sovereigns." In some instances, the cabins 
of the planters are surrounded by deep trenches, covered 
with oscillating platforms, well supplied with bait. The 
"Solves, as they gather upon this platform, are precipitated 
into the pit by their own weight, and before morning, like 



THE ST. BERNARD AND OTHER DOaS. 33T 

the Kilkenny cats, it is found that they have generally 
dispatched each other by their own fraternal quarrels 
The wolf of New South Wales neither barks nor growls, 
but erects the hair of its skin, when surprised, like the 
quills of the "fretful porcupine." Its prevailing color 
is brown, interspersed with black stripes from the fore 
shoulders to the tail. The fox embraces many varieties, 
but the principal genera are the red fox of Europe and 
America, the white Arctic fox, and the jackal of Asia and 
Africa. The habits and cunning of this animal are well 
known. Although an unpleasant neighbor to the farmer, 
he has afforded more amusement in the chase than any 
other animal whatever. In England, indeed, his species 
would long since have been extinct, had not the sporting 
gentry given liberal bribes to the farmers for their tolera- 
tion. He is a great burrower ; and after making a noc- 
turnal visit to the poultry roost, he distributes his spoil 
in his several subterranean mansions. The fox has a 
thick fur, a long sweeping tail, and a cat-like face. He 
spends his days in sleep, and his nights in depredations — 
hares, rabbits, squirrels, poultry, and birds are his ordi- 
nary food ; but sometimes he ventures upon lambs, and, 
if hard-pressed, will descend to shell-fish and crustaceans. 
He is a crafty villain, and has little in his character to 
deserve sympathy and commiseration, or to shield him 
from the desperate fury of the hounds. 

The Arctic fox, like the Pola,r bear, changes his coat 
from an ash color to that of a white on the approach of 
the severe winters of his native region, and the hairs then 
become very soft, woolly, and long. In his character, he 
is not materially different from the red variety already 
noticed. He is found only in the colder latitudes of Eu- 
rope, Asia, and North America. Jackals inhabit Asia 
and Africa, and usually travel in large packs, when they 
sometimes venture to attack their superiors in strength. 



338 THE SIXTH BAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

The habits and appearance of these animals are very simi- 
lar — they are all burrowers, all great sleepers during the 
day, and prowling depredators at night. The hyena has 
two leading genera — the striped animal of Africa and 
portions of Asia, and the spotted one of the Cape of Good 
Hope. They are distinguished for their savage strength, 
their rapacious appetites, their long rough hair, and their 
general ungainly and ferocious appearance. They live 
mostly in caverns, and those of the Tertiary period are 
literally strewn with the bones of the animals upon which 
they feasted. 

The family of bears includes several genera of that 
animal, besides those of raccoons and badgers. Their 
teeth are similar in number and arrangement to those of 
the dog, and although the bear is carnivorous to some ex- 
tent, it seems to prefer vegetable food, especially fruit and 
tender herbs. They reside during the winter in caves 
and mountainous recesses, where they rear their young. 
It is an unoffending animal until molested, or when acting 
in defense of her young, for which the mother has an ex- 
traordinary affection, and will lay down her life in their 
behalf It can climb trees with facility, and is equally at 
home in the water — the white or polar being, in fact, 
amphibious. The brown or black bear has a long-haired 
skin, and thick muscular legs, with padded feet and sharp 
projecting claws. Its walk is very soft and stealthy, and 
it betrays no inconsiderable cunning in its midnight 
prowls — often approaching the cabins of woodmen in 
the forest, and helping itself to whatever spoil may be 
left exposed. A touching incident is related in Lord 
Mulgrave's Yoyage for the Discovery of a Northwest Pas- 
sage. A female bear and her cubs were approaching the 
ship, when the sailors fired, killing the cubs and wound- 
ing the mother. Regardless of her own sufferings and 
danger she scorned to withdraw and leave her young 



BEARS, RACCOONS, AND THE EAGLE. 333 

behind. She would not understand that they were dead ; 
she placed food before them, and by every endearing mo- 
tion endeavored to raise them up with her paw^s ; she 
withdrew and looked back, as if expecting them to fol- 
low ; but perceiving that they lay motionless, she re- 
turned, and with inexpressible fondness walked around 
them, pawing them, licking their wounds, and moaning 
the while. At last, as if receiving the unwilling convic- 
tion that they were dead indeed, she turned toward the 
ship, and uttered a fierce and bitter growl against the 
murderers, to which they replied by another volley of shot 
that laid her beside her young.* 

Bear-baiting was one of the classical amusements of our 
English ancestors, two or three centuries ago. It has 
been rarely tolerated in modern times ; but bear-dancing 
is not an unusual feature in the entertainments of the ring, 
garnished with the grotesque movements and the stereo- 
typed sallies of Mr. Merryman. The Polar or white bear 
differs from the ordinary species, mainly in color, and in 
having his feet clothed with hair, for the double purpo.- e 
of giving him warmth and of enabling him to maintain his 
footing on the smooth ice and sleet of his native glaciers. 
The smaller animals of the land and the sea are his 
ordinary food; but being an excellent swimmer and diver, 
he is a successful adventurer in seals and large fish. The 
former he approaches by a series of adroit dives, and 
v/hen he gets sufficiently near, a single bound and hug 
serves to secure the victim, whether it be leisurely repos- 
ing on an iceberg, or floundering in the water. 

The raccoon is very abundant in the United States, and 
some of the genera, which consist of four or five, are no 
doubt natives either of North or South America. The 
common animal has a soft tread, a thin tapering snout, 

♦ Scripture iyatural Historj. 



340 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

broad head, white face, and a long switching tail, having 
rings of black. Its general color is brownish grey Its 
upper lip, a la genus homo, is furnished with a thick 
black mustache. The raccoon is a great sleeper during 
the day, and rolls itself into a ball to avoid the glare of the 
sun, which appears to be inimical to its delicate vision. 
It is extremely cunning, and very tenacious of life — as 
much so, perhaps, as the opossum. Some twenty years 
ago, during the excitement of politics, the 'coon accidently 
became the recognized and victorious ensign of the whig 
party. And to politicians generally, its character is not 
without emblematic significance. During the brief and 
temporary predominance of the "Know-nothings," it was 
generally thought that the party of Clay and Webster was 
dead; but the truth is, (as I think indications now dis- 
closing themselves sufiiciently demonstrate,) the old 
^coon was merely asleep, and he yet lives to be borne in 
triumph in the conservative processions of the people 
And why not ? His character is certainly as fair as that 
of the predaceous vulture emblazoned on our national 
escutcheon, — a bird distinguished for little else than its 
prowling and tyrannical habits. Dr. Franklin regretted 
that he (the bald eagle) " had been chosen as the representa- 
tive of our country. He is a bird of bad moral character; 
he does not get his living honestly. You may have seen 
him perched on some dead tree, where, too lazy to fish for 
himself, he watches the labors of the fishing hawk, and 
when that diligent bird has at length taken a fish, and is 
bearing it to his nest for the support of his mate and 
young ones, the bald eagle pursues him, and takes it 
from him. With all this injustice, he is never in good 
condition, and like those among men who live by sharp- 
ing and robbing, he is generally poor, and often very 
lousy. Besides, he is a rank coward ; the little king-bird, 
not bigger than a sparrow, attacks him boldly, and drives 



THE RACCOON, THE RATEL, ETC. 341 

him out of the district. He is therefore," says the Doctor, 
" not a proper emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati 
of America, who have driven all the king-birds from our 
country !" We have said that the 'coon is cunning ; and it 
is of a sort that may be denominated Yankee cunning. 
For example : being an amateur in crustaceans, he is in 
the habit of suspending his tail, in a very insinuating 
manner, over the haunts of crabs and lobsters, who, 
naturally mistaking it for a delectable morsel, clutch it, 
whereupon they are suddenly jerked out of the water by 
the astute fisherman, and a sumptuous repast is dcrivo' 
from their tender joints ! There are two varieties of tli ; 
raccoon in South America, known as the coati-mondi. 
In color they are brown and red, and are nearly as large 
as the fox. They often do much mischief to the planta- 
tions, but their food mainly consists of insects and reptiles. 
They are also expert climbers, and like the squirrel, 
descend trees head foremost. The suricate is also a 
native of South America, and is easily domestiicated, as 
are, in fact, nearly all the animals belonging to this group. 
The badger combines in his nature some of the features of 
the hog, the bear, and the genet. It is a burrower, and 
possesses unusual strength in its fore legs, the feet ter- 
minating with sharp claws. It emits a strong and un- 
pleasant odor, resulting from a secretion in its extremities. 
Its food consists principally of fruits, insects, frogs, eggs, 
and those birds whicli build on the ground or on low 
im.shes. Their burrows are usually lined with straw and 
other vegetable material to render them warm and 
comfortable; and though emitting a disagreeable smell, 
thoy are yet extremely tidy in their subterraneous abodes. 
They are widely disseminated in Europe, Asia, and North 
America. The glutton is an animal intermediate between 
the badger and the coati-mondi ; but as yet, little is known 
of it. It is a native of South America, and in captivity 



342 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

evinces a playful and sportive disposition. The ratel is 
found in Africa and India, especially in the department 
of Bengal. Like the fox and the raccoon, it spends the 
day in sleep, and prowls upon birds, rats, and other 
animals at night. It is a skillful burrower, and the graves 
of the dead are not exempt from this propensity, unless 
protected by a covering of thorns or stones. It has a 
partiality for honey, and under the guidance of the forest 
cuckoo, it searches out the stores of the hive, v^hich are 
usually erected on the ground, or suspended from low 
bushes. Upon finding a hive, the ratel burrows near it, 
and approaches directly beneath it by a subterraneous 
passage. He then emerges to the surface, and boldly 
besieges the magazine of hone}^ In captivity it is said 
to be very frolicsome, and resorts to various antics to 
attract notice. The upper portion of the body, from the 
head to the tail, is covered with gray, while the sides and 
under portions are black. Its tail is moderately long, but 
its whole appearance is peculiar. 

The civet, the ichneumon of Egypt, and the genet are 
all distinguished for having an apparatus to secrete a sub- 
stance which imparts a a strong scent, more or less musky. 
The secretion, in the civet, is deposited in pouches in its 
posterior glands, which may be extracted from the animal, 
by means of a spoon, at tlie average of a drachm per week. 
The musk is very powerful, and substances scented with 
it will retain it for a long time. Every portion of the 
flesh of the animal is thoroughly impregnated with it. 
The scent is somewhat similar to pomatum, and is gener 
ally highly esteemed. The civet is about three feet in 
length, and its habits are similar to those of the fox, which 
it resembles in the face, but has a longer snout. Its color 
is brownish-gray, traversed with numerous bands of black. 
The civet is a native of Africa, but has been domesticated 
in Europe fox the production of musk. The zihet of the 



LHE ICHNEUMON, THE WEASEL, T.TC. 34? 

island of Java is a near relation of the civet, and is distin 
guished for its burrowing and thieving propensities — 
being, in this respect, an exact counterpart of the fox. 
The ichneumon is a native of Egypt, but is found in all 
partvS of Asia and Africa. Although scarcely larger than 
a cat, it is the deadly foe of young crocodiles, snakes, and 
other noxious animals of the torrid zone. Its mode of 
attack is to dart, with extraordinary agility, upon the 
head, and seize them in the most vital part. A single 
shake usually serves to break the necks or backs of rep- 
tiles, after which they all become powerless in its grasp. 
It is also provided with excretory functions, but unlike 
the civet, its secretions have a most offensive odor. In 
appearance and habits it is not unlike the weazel — its feet 
being armed with claws, its nose long and tapering, and 
its eyes small and flashing. The genet is beautifully 
spotted, hke the leopards, and does not differ materially 
from the ichneumon except that it is larger, and instead 
of emitting an offensive odor, it is rather pleasant, being 
that of a delicate musk. It abounds in Turke}^ and Spain ; 
and is characterized not only for the beauty of its skin, 
which is valuable, but also for its cleanliness, mildness of 
disposition, and skill as a hunter. The weasel stands at 
the head of a group of animals which are also distin- 
guished for imparting, while living, a most offensive odor, 
but most of which are nevertheless valuable for their skins. 
These are the weasel, the ferret, the stoat, the martin, 
the pole-cat, the skunk, and the sable. These animals all 
present a long, round, and serpentine body and neck, and 
though swift runners and swimmers, they have the shuffling 
movements of snakes rather than quadrupeds. The weasel 
is small, not as large as a common cat, has eyes remark- 
able for their quick perception, and a color varying from 
a brown to a dirty white. While it is found in all parts 
of Europe, it exists in great abundance in the United 



344 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

States. It feeds principally on rats, mice, moles, and 
birds. The ferret is larger than the weasel, and is a na- 
tive of Africa. It was formerly employed to hunt rats 
and rabbits, which it would pursue into their holes in the 
earth — hence the name. The stoat much resembles the 
weasel, except in color, which is more generally white, 
particularly in high northern latitudes. It has sometimes 
been called a white weasel. The martins comprise seve- 
ral varieties, all of which are very numerous in the United 
States and Canada, and the northern parts of Europe. It 
is larger and longer than the weasel or the ferret, and 
is furnished with a long and switching tail. Upward of 
fifty thousand skins of this animal have been obtained, in 
the northern and western regions of the United States 
and the British possessions, in one year ; and though it is 
allied to the 'class of mustela vulgaris, the odor from the 
skin is delightfully musky and pleasant. The pole-cat is 
well known for its offensive smell, and its nocturnal depre- 
dations — poultry, rabbits, pigeons, etc., being its princi- 
pal victims. It is a great climber, and can make its way 
over the smoothest walls. It is also a very courageous 
warrior, and defends itself with considerable skill from 
the attacks of dogs, who often beat a retreat, probably 
in consequence of its disgusting smell. He has been 
termed the prince of marauders, a title which his cunning, 
skill, agility, and peculiar qualities seem fully to merit. 
Notwithstanding his odor, his skin, when dressed with 
the hair, retains nothing offensive. The skunk is an 
American variety of the pole-cat. The upper part of the 
body is white, while the lower is black. It has long 
shaggy hair and tail, short legs, and a long pointed snout. 
It seldom ventures out in winter, except in the Southern 
States. Its food consists mainly of rats, mice, and toads. 
When attacked, it emits a fetid discharge, which is offen- 
sive in the highest degree. The sable is an inhabitant 



THE FERRET, THE OTTER, THE SABLE, ETC. 345 

of Russia and Siberia, and its fur is by far the most valu- 
able of any of the family. It is long, fine, and silky, and 
generally of a very bright color. The sable changes the 
color of its hair with the change of the season, the dark 
thin hairs being gradually superseded by white ones, 
which form its usual winter coat. The skins of the sable 
imported annually from Russia vary from one to two 
hundred thousand, and they often command enormous 
prices. The otter, although it does not belong to this 
group, has a similarly long and slender build, but is more 
aquatic in its predilections. Its fin-like legs, feet webbed 
and oar-shaped, and its long rudder-like tail, enable it to 
make the swiftest and most astonishing evolutions in its 
native rivers and lakes. Its fur is short, but extremely 
fine, and large numbers of its skins have been exported 
from the American fur grounds. 

Such is a brief glance at some of the leading features 
which characterize the numerous, varied, and remarkable 
animals comprising the order of Monadelphians. We 
could do little more than mention the families ; nor was 
an extended description essential to our purpose. We 
wish to convey an idea of the extent and variety of the 
higher fauna of the earth on the close of the Sixth Day ; 
and our object will have been sufficiently attained in the 
enumeration of the principal known families and groups. 
As to their fossil remains, they are everywhere scattered 
throughout the higher Tertiary, and it is almost needless 
and superfluous to dwell on the particulars. The fossil 
remains of extinct and living genera of bears occur in great 
abundance in France, Germany England, America, and 
very likely ail over Asia and Africa. Badgers, dogs, 
hyenas, and a large number of the feline type, both of 
extinct and living genera, have also been found in caverns, 
and sometimes as low down as the I^liocene Tertiary, in 
all parts of the globe. And their remains invariably ap- 



346 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

preach those of the living species in proportion to their 
proximity to the present geological epoch. But, before 
we enter upon a general review of this interesting forma- 
tion, or make further comments upon its animal and vege- 
table creations, two other orders yet demand our attention. 
The ninth order in the mammalian division is the Quad- 
rinnana, which comprises apes, baboons, and monkeys. 
All the representatives of this order are remarkable for 
having four hands, terminating in five toes or fingers, and 
for the general resemblance which certain of them present, 
when in an erect posture, to the human species. This is 
particularly the case with the apes, of which the Oran- 
outang is by far the largest and most perfect specimen. 
The anatomical structure of this animal is said to be simi- 
lar to that of man ; and, as compared with some of the lower 
types, it must be admitted that the partition between 
the two races seems to be very thin and transparent. "We 
saw a specimen of the Oran-outang twenty years ago, and 
had daily opportunities of witnessing its habits and move- 
ments. It was brought from Africa by a fellow-townsman. 
Dr. S. M. E. Goheen, who retained it about his premises 
for several months, chained to a kennel. The pictures 
presented of the animal, in works on Natural History, are 
usually much exaggerated, especially when represented in 
an erect position, which is wholly unnatural to it. It is 
very rarely, and only when attempting to climb, that the 
Oran-outang stands on its hind feet ; and it requires much 
skill and patience to train them to the effort. The face, 
too, is invariably flattened ; in the original specimens it 
presents no regularity of feature whatever, as compared 
with the human countenance ; but, on the contrary, is dis- 
gustingly deformed and inexpressive. In some of the 
pictures, however, which we have seen, it even surpasses 
many specimens of the human f axe — being furnished with 
a regular beard, and cheeks as smooth and flesh-like as if 



THE ORAN-OUTANG, ETC. 34T 

fresh from the hands of the barber. Moreover, it is often 
represented as exceedingly plump, round, and muscular 
in its physical conformation ; whereas the very reverse is 
the case with the living animal, the body and all the 
limbs being exceedingly attenuated, notwithstanding that 
it possesses much of the agility and elasticity of move- 
ment which characterize other quadrupeds of the same 
size and mode of life. While we cannot pretend to deter- 
mine, from absolute knowledge of the osseous structure 
of the Oran-outang, the actual extent of its similarity to 
that of the human frame, we know that the animal as a 
whole is altogether different ; that, as compared with the 
human form, it presents a series of malformations from 
its toes to its head ; that many of its organs are irregular 
and misplaced ; and that while it is suggestive of a resem- 
blance to man, the ideal image is entirely dissipated by 
the reality which a personal acquaintance with it affords. 
All its instincts are low, and in general intelligence it is 
by no means the equal of the dog, the fox, the elephant, 
or the horse. The Oran-outang is a native of Africa, but 
has also been found in India. It is a very rare and soli- 
tary animal, and, like all the others in their natural state, 
shuns mankind as much as possible. The Chimpanzee 
and the Barbary ape are other varieties of the ape tribe, 
but they differ little from the former, except that their 
physical features have still less correspondence with those 
of man. All these animals are clothed with long irregu- 
lar hair, and the fingers or toes of their hind feet are of 
the same length and equally as prehensile as those in 
front. In the Barbary ape, the hind feet are considerably 
longer than those in front, and are very thin and sinewy. 
The face of the Chimpanzee is broad, with protruding 
jaws and an immense mouth ; that of the Oran-outang is 
somewhat smaller, but, upon the whole, less regular. 
The lips of all these animals are thin and flabby, and de- 



348 THE SIXTH DAY— GEOLOGICAL^ 

void of that fullness and incarnation which gives expres- 
sion to the human face. This arises, in part, from the 
fact that all the specimens of the Quadrumana have 
pouched cheeks to a greater or less extent. The monkeys, 
especially, conceal large stores of provisions in their jaws, 
and the apes do so to a limited extent — hence the enor- 
mous protrusion of this portion of their face. The Bar- 
bary ape, unlike the others, is furnished with immense 
ears, and with the single exception of its protruding jaws, 
the head and face are very similar to the bull-dog. And 
although, in its external appearance, it bears no similarity 
whatever to man — no more, in fact, than to a dog — yet 
we are assured that its osteology is the same, or, rather, 
that it has the same number of hones, joined in a manner 
very similar, but deviating in length, in local form, and 
in general conformation. All the ape tribe appear to be 
natives of Africa, though specimens of the Oran-outang 
have been found in India, and in some of the islands of 
the Indian Ocean. The baboon has but few varieties, 
and are all distinguished from the apes by their tails, their 
long hair, and their more repulsive features. The ribbed- 
nose baboon has a series of ribs arching over his cheeks 
on each side of his nose, which latter organ, like that of 
the dog, extends on a line with the mouth, and gives these 
extremities of the face a canine appearance. The whole 
structure of his head is frightful, and is rendered more so 
by the varied colors of the nose and the ribs — the one 
being a bright red, and the other a light blue. The pig- 
tailed baboon is a smaller animal than the other, and is 
provided with large cheek pouches, like all the genuine 
monkeys. The face, ears, and posteriors are naked, and, 
when tamed, it evinces a fondness for tobacco, snaff, and 
mustard, which it eats without apparent inconvenience. 
In this respect, it comes nearer to man than any of its 
species I These animals, unlike the apes, usually travel 



I 



APES AND MONKEYS. 349 

in companies, and their thieving and libidinous propen- 
sities constitute the prevailing features of their character. 
The J are also natives of Africa, and live principally on 
grains, fruits, and succulent herbs. The monkey tribe is 
very numerous, and differs from the apes and baboons in 
being furnished with very long tails, which are useful in 
allowing their suspension from the limbs of trees. Cun- 
ning, trickery, thieving, and capering are their leading 
characteristics; and, excepting that their faces are 
moulded somewhat after the human type, they partake of 
the nature and features of squirrels. The Mico is much 
the handsomest specimen of the tribe. It has a rather 
handsome face, with a red flesh-color, is covered with a 
rich coat of white hair, and a tail nearly twice the length 
of its body. Its habits are also more agreeable than most 
of the species. It is found in large numbers in South 
America, particularly in Brazil. The green monkeys are 
found in Northern Africa and India. They are light and 
fragile in form, and, like the mico, have tails of extraor- 
dinary length ; some of which are naked and others clothed 
with hair. The human aspect of the face gradually dis- 
appears in this group, and takes the form, in some of 
them, of the squirrel, the fox, and the rat. The ring- 
tailed monkey has the head of a fox, the body of a cat, 
and the gait of the kangaroo. The yellow Macauco ap- 
proaches the opossum. They both belong to Africa, 
although found in numerous other localities, and are re- 
markable for their playfulness. The remains of monkeys 
have lately been found in the upper strata of the Tertiary 
in all the countries where they now live, and in some 
where they have long since become extinct. Those found 
in the Tertiary of India have been referred to a species of 
Semnopifhecus, and indicate animals of large size. Those 
discovered in the South of France are smaller ; while 
again, those of South America point to species more than 



350 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOQICAIi. 

twice the stature of those now living there. The fossil 
remains of this order establish the interesting fact that, 
before the close of the Tertiary era, four leading di- 
visions of the monkey family existed ; that these divisions 
were as distinctly separable by structural features and 
general habits as are the living apes from the monkeys ; 
and that, moreover, they had a wider geographical distri- 
bution, and existed in regions of country where the cli- 
matical changes which have occurred in the mean time 
have utterly extinguished the ancient species, and forbid 
the residence of those now living under the torrid zone — 
hence their limitation to Africa and South America, and 
portions of Asia ; and their invariable exclusion from re- 
gions of glacial cold. 

The last order of the mammalia consists of man. It 
was toward the evening of this great geological day — 
between the closing of the post-Pliocene and the fragrant 
and peaceful dawn of the Present, that the ne plus ultra 
of the creative work had been attained. After the most 
elaborate preparations had been made for his reception ; 
after all the animals had contributed their share, directly 
and indirectly, toward the attainment of that harmonious 
equilibrium in nature by which governmental dominion 
was to be forever maintained over them ; after the earth 
had been clothed with herbs, and fruits, and shady groves, 
and the valleys and the hills strewn with blooming flowers ; 
after the terrestrial stage had been furnished with " new 
and gorgeous scenery," and the vast over-arching dome 
hung with brilliant chandeliers, the light of which dazzled 
with the varying lustre of millions of celestial Koh-i-noors ; 
— it was then that the great versatile actor, Man, made 
his first appearance on the stage, and entered at once upon 
the round of characters which usually distinguish his 
brief and arduous engagement. We have no disposition to 
speak of him in the spirit of levity ; but we may say with 



MAN APPEARS ON THE STAGE ! 351 

a sigli, but with entire truth, that the characters he 
assumes upon the stage of life are often but indifferently 
performed. His most lamentable failure is in the rendi- 
tion of the sterling character of an honest, upright, God- 
feainng man ! It is one often assumed, but alas ! how 
complete and overwhelming are the failures ! The cant- 
ing hypocrite — the selfish miser — the envious, shallow- 
pated pretender — the unfeeling destroyer — the Aminidab 
Sleeks — the arch-nosed Shylocks — the plausible, slippery, 
crawling, insidious lagos — these constitute the staple 
characters of life, and they are almost everywhere played 
off before indulgent audiences. But to go back : 

The order of Bimana, which embraces all the varieties 
of the human species, was the last and the greatest work 
of the Creator. This fact is not only apparent in the 
statement of Moses, but it is rendered perfectly indispu- 
table by the revelations of geology. As to the exact time 
of man's appearance, there is room for a little doubt ; I 
shall, however, endeavor to show that it must have been 
toward the close of the Tertiary, in which his fossil re- 
mains have been sparingly found. Like all the inferior 
animals, the species of mankind comprise a large number 
of distinctive varieties, which physiologists arrange under 
five leading groups or families, viz., the GaucaHian, the 
Mongolian, the Malayan, the Negro, and the American 
Indian. Each of these principal divisions comprises a 
large number of sub-groups, nearly all of them speaking 
different languages, and characterized by local halnts and 
mental idiosyncrasies as diverse as could well be conceived. 
Emigration, intermarriage, and commercial and social 
intercourse between individuals, tribes, and nations, have 
constantly tended to increase the lines of separation and 
the complexity of type, or to gradually fuse old into new 
ones. From the earliest history of mankind, howeyer 
they all appear to resolve themselves into five principal 



S55 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL, 

families, and still more remotely into three. Thus, the 
Caucasian is everywhere distinguished from the others by 
his white skin, his tall stature, and the general pro- 
portion, harmony, grace, and beauty of his person, while 
his moral and intellectual faculties are also better 
developed, and appear to be of an infinitely finer tempera- 
ment than those of all the others. His nose is straight or 
aquiline, his face and ears small, the forehead broad, and 
the complexion roseate, and expressive of thought. His 
face often sustains a beard on a line with the cheek bone 
— a feature, which, though not invariable, is yet peculiar to 
none of the others. While it is far from being the most 
numerous, the Cauof^sian race may be regarded as the 
governor of mankind, and as the head of all animated 
nature, because it has attained a higher degree of civiliza- 
tion, refinement, power, and mental culture. It includes 
most of the inhabitants of Western Asia, the Tartars, the 
Caucasians, Georgians, Armenians, and Circassians; the 
Turks, Persians, Arabians, Affghans, Egyptians, and 
Abyssinians, and with the exception of the Finlanders, it 
embraces all the Europeans, and their American descend- 
ants. The nobility of England may be regarded as its 
highest type, both in physical and mental develop- 
ment. 

The Ethiopian, or Negro, though a native of all parts 
of Africa, is yet distinct from certain tribes inhabiting 
the northern and central portions, some of which, 
according to recent discoveries, appear to have attained 
a considerable degree of civilization, and are no less 
remarkable for the purity of their complexions, and 
the European aspect of their features. The Negro is the 
very converse of the Caucassian — his skin being perfectly 
black, and his hair and eyes generally of the same color. 
But his hair, instead of being long, straight, or curling into 
ringlets, is woolly and knotted. His nose is broad and 



RACES OP MAN. 353 

flat, his lips thick and protruding, and his forehead low. 
There are many minor features by which he is everywhere 
distinguishable ; but there is one which, though I have 
never seen it mentioned by physiologists (except by Mr. 
Jefferson, in his Notes on Virginia), appears to be universal 
even with mulattos and half-breeds. The skin of the 
Negro secretes a perspiration which emits a peculiar and 
unpleasant musky odor, somewhat in the manner of those 
animals of the family Mustela vulgaris already described. 

The Malayans are natives of the numerous islands of 
the South Sea, as New Zealand, New Guinea, New Hol- 
land, and the Malayan Archipelago. Their skin has a 
dark brown color, hair long and black, nose full and 
broad, mouth and face long, large, and prominent. They 
can very easily be traced back to the Ethiopian type. 

The Mongolian race is well represented by the Chinese, 
tbe Japanese, the Mongols, and other Asiatic tribes, to- 
gether with those of Tonquin, Siam, and Thibet, and the 
Laplander and the Esquimaux. Their color is that of 
yellow or olive. They have but little beard, generally 
none at all ; low forehead, broad face, rather flat nose, 
large ears, thick lips, projecting round cheeks, black hair 
and eyes, and stature inferior to the Caucasian. 

The American Indians present several groups, but they 
all resemble the Mongolian race so closely, especially in 
the structure of their heads, that they may properly be 
regarded as primitive off-shoots from it. Their color varies 
from a dark red to an olive — as a whole, they may be 
termed copperish, with an infusion of yellow sufficient to 
identify them with the Mongolian. Their hair is also 
black, long, and coarse, but they are destitute of beard. 
Their leading characteristics are essentially Mongolian, 
while their individual features sometimes approach the 
Caucasian. As a race, they are tall, straight, and grace- 
ful, and in natural sprightliness of intellect, dignity of '''^''* 



,354 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

riage, and eloquence of speech, are hardly inferior to 
any. 

After the creation of man, toward the close of the 
Sixth Day, the world seems, for the first time, to have 
been lulled into a serene and calm repose. Creative action 
had attained the ultimatum in man. All the previous 
w^ork ended and blended harmoniously in him, as the days 
themselves blended into the great Sabbath of Nature 
which ensued. All the angels of heaven participated 
with God in the joyful work of creation. Even the little 
children-angels, that play around the opal-throne of the 
Creator, seem to have contributed their little works in the 
annelids, insects, and flowers that peep out from their 
secret retreats in the earth ; while God himself was mainly 
engrossed in infusing the coup de grace to the whole — in 
concentrating and embodying all the animal functions, 
under the sceptre of Reason, in the brain and body of 
man ! How wonderfully and fearfully he is made ! What 
an infinite number of delicate vessels traverse his frame ! 
How nicely all his bones fit into their varied and compli- 
cated sockets ! How gracefully and elastically his limbs 
bend and move under the guiding tendons, muscles, and 
fibres with which they are padded ! How God-like is his 
Mind! Composed of a variety of organs, hitched to the 
car of Thought, Reason holds the reins, and drives the 
body through the earth — sometimes over rough and dan- 
gerous roads, sometimes in happy thoroughfares and along 
broad avenues, strewn with flowers and sweetened per- 
fumes ! Man is the Governor— the Monarch of Creation ! 
In him all things earthy end — in him all things return 
back to God ! After his creation, therefore, God ceased 
from his work. Day after day, each filled with its appro- 
priate work, passed in succession ; but the Seventh day, 
instead of being ended, is only begun. Moses does not 
speak of the Sabbath as having any end, so far as man is 



MARRIAGE OF ADAM AND EVE. 355 

concerned, it is an eternity, during which God will rest 
from his creative labor ! Upon the close of the Sixth 
Day, after a terrestrial equilibrium — a systematic organi- 
zation of all the types, creatures, and circumstances of 
created life had been secured, the whole was placed under 
the dominion of man. It was expressly consigned to his 
custody. He became the god of earth — the recognized 
agent of the Almighty, to take care of the creatures and 
the varied works he and his angels had made ! 

Man's creation .was the preliminary step to the Sab- 
batical repose which ensued. When the sky began to 
gleam in vast lakes of liquid azure, and bold promontories 
of fleecy drapery — when the mountains rejoiced in spread- 
ing foliage, and hid their hoary peaks in the clouds, to 
conduct angels to the paradise below ; after the sloping 
plains had rolled out their carpets of velvet, and crystal 
streams glistened in the sun, or leaped in cascades, or 
waltzed around in eddies and gurgling pools to the soft 
cadences of the musical air ; — in a broad vale, fringed 
with thymy terraces, and boquetted with flowers and blos- 
soming orchards, whose fragrance infused ethereal intoxica- 
tion ; — in a garden, by nature formed to please, laden 
with fruits, and vines, and gums, and juices nectarial — 
amid the joyous songs of birds, and the approving throbs 
of animated life ; surrounded with the winged ministers of 
the planetary universe, and the angelic hosts of the court 
of Jehovah — there, as the last and crowning act of crea- 
tion, God " formed man in his own image, male and female 
created he them;" and breathing into his nostrils the 
breath of life, he became a living and an immortal soul. 
Adam and Eve, thus created and united in wedlock, be- 
came flesh of one flesh, and bone of one bone. In the 
presence of the angelic throngs of heaven — with the ap- 
proving smiles of all the representatives of the ethereal 
worlds — the powers of space, of Eternity and Immortality 



356 THE SIXTH DAY — GEOLOGICAL. 

- — the nuptials of man's progenitors were solemnized, and 
as their endowment, God consigned to Adam the sole 
custody of the great work thus completed ; crowning him 
with unrestricted dominion over the boundless earth — the 
fishes of the sea, the varied creatures of the land and air I 
He then blessed and sanctified the Sabbath that ensued ; 
and now, the joyous train showering their gratulations on 
the wedded pair, 

The heavens, and all the constellations rang ! 
The planets, in their places, list'ning stood. 
While the bright pomp ascended, jubilant! 
Open ! ye everlasting gates ! they sung; 
Open ! ye heavens ! your living doors — let in 
The great Creator from his work returned, 
Magnificent ! His six days' work a World ! 
Open ! and henceforth oft, for God will deign 
To visit oft the dwellings of just men 
Delighted ! and with frequent intercourse 
' Thither will send his winged messengers 
On errands of supernal grace ! 



THE SEVENTH DAY— THE SABBATH. 

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of 
them. 2 And ou the seventh day God ended his work which he had 
made j and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had 
made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, because 
that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. 
4. These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth, when they 
were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the 
heavens. 6 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and 
every herb of the field before it grew ; for the Lord God had not caused it 
to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 6 
But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of 
the ground. 7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, 
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living 
soul. 

I REMAHKED at the outset of the present work, that I 
had no desire to enter the field of theological speculation. 
Indeed, it was a part of my original plan expressly to 
avoid it, except only in those cases where there seemed 
to be a direct conflict between the Bible and Geology. 
In these conflicts, I have ventured to explain the geology, 
rather than the theology of the dispute. I have, in fact, 
not written as a theologian at all — I have not even con- 
fined myself within the sectarian discipline of the church, 
I have simply taken up the Cosmogony of the Bible, as 
an humble but original and independent investigator of 
nature, and endeavored to sustain its integrity against the 
insidious assaults of the most distinguished geologists. 
This work, I am well aware, could have been better per- 
formed, so far as the Church itself is concerned, by some 

(35t) 



358 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

one more closely identified with its tenets and policy than 
myself. But while the field of theology is comparatively 
well filled with expounders of every degree of merit and 
intelligence, it will be conceded that but few of them have 
devoted attention to the department of practical geology. 
Instead of dedicating a portion of their time and energies 
to a proper investigation of the field, so as to protect the 
Church from its assaults, many preachers have really 
diverted their pulpits from their more legitimate duties, 
to the promulgation of what may be termed '' sensational" 
sermons, or have partially abandoned them in favor of the 
lecture-room and the political arena, for the poor and 
questionable compensation of popular applause and 
notoriety. The pulpit, thus neglected and weakened, has 
been left unprotected from the attacks of pernicious 
geological theories and speculations; and the result is, 
that we now see its authorized guardians and defenders 
driven to miserable special pleading, or compelled, in many 
cases, to abandon the explicit statements of the Bible in 
favor of mere subterfuges and unmanly evasions and 
apologies. 

Notwithstanding the enthusiasm — not to say fanatical 
zeal, which a large number of ministers evince in the 
abstract political questions of the day, the great majority, 
no doubt, deserve respect for good intentions, at least. 
There is no character on this broad earth more entitled to 
our kindly sympathies, our warm regard and admiration, 
than the conscientious, open-hearted, and devoted minister 
of the gospel. Their social influence is, and ought to be, 
unlimited, because they are necessary to the preservation 
of society, government, and civilization. When, therefore, 
we see men compromising their high position as ministers 
of the gospel — neglecting its immediate and legitimate 
objects, or prostituting them in the strife and angry 
tumult of partisan politics, the cause of religion is not 



PULPITS ABANDONED FOR THE STUMP. 359 

only weakened, but the Church itself suffers degradation. 
Diversity of opinion upon doctrinal points may safely be 
tolerated, and is perhaps unavoidable ; but a diversion of 
the obvious functions of their office from its high social, 
moral and spiritual, to a sectional and political purpose, 
can only lead to the embitterment of popular prejudices, 
to the disruption of society and of governments, and to the 
ultimate extinction of religion itself. 

But the very fact, paradoxical as it may seem, that 
scarcely any two ministers can agree upon all the doc- 
trinal points of the Bible, is a powerful argument in favor 
of its divine authenticity. Like all the works of God, it 
is sometimes difficult to understand. But all that which 
v/e see around, above, and beneath us, although quite 
familiar to our senses, is yet only one great, stupendous, 
unfathomable mystery. We ourselves are no less so. 
And yet we see in the daily operations of nature, things 
that we know to be fixed and certain ; and from things 
thus known, we can easily pursue those that are unknown, 
or involved in obscurity. We can thus trace God through 
all his works. And it is precisely so with the Bible. 
The great bulk of it, although mysterious, we know to be 
true and fixed, because self-evident to our senses — and by 
the faith we thus have in the known, we are justified in 
our inferences of the unknown. Geology proves, for 
example, that there was a beginning; — that there was a 
time when man did not exist ; — that there was a time 
when animals and vegetation did not exist ; — that there 
was a time when the earth itself could not have existed. 
Now, knowing this, we must infer that a cause produced 
the effects which we see and feel — that the operating 
cause must be one of superior intelligence, and that origi- 
nally it must necessarily have been in close communion 
with the creatures of its volition. Hence, we cannot but 
believe that man, in the beginning, was in friendly inter- 



360 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

course with his Maker — that he received from him the 
means whereby to sustain and develop his nature, and 
the admonitions and advice by which happiness, love, and 
peace would be forever secured. 

God is said to unite three persons in one — as the Father, 
the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This combination of per, 
sonality is incomprehensible to us, but not incredible. 
As Father, he is the undoubted Creator of all things — the 
personification of worlds, of matter, elements, and force. 
We may recognize in him the imponderable and inde- 
structible elements — carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, electricity, 
light, gravitation. These are omnipresent in space and 
matter. Besides these, there are sixty-two simple min- 
erals tliat cannot be destroyed or changed from one to 
another, as gold, iron, mercury, etc. The elements may 
be presumed to constitute the instruments of creative 
action, order, and law, because all matter and life are sub- 
ject to their control. Some of these elements and min- 
erals may have afi&nities in other worlds, or in space, and 
the whole may have originally formed a unit, or one. 
This primary unit, existing in unimaginable chaos, evolved 
a governing principle — a principle inheriting all the 
properties of elements, as subsequently diffused in worlds 
and life. Now, this vital principle was and is none other 
than God. It may be said that God himself was thus 
created. No : he primarily existed ; he now began to 
create. His will was manifested by diffusion — irradia- 
tion. The elements incorporate in him were invisible 
creatures, like the ideal visions of man's dreams, but 
capable of assuming fixed forms in matter. God is thus 
the source from which all things flow. 

But this personality of Creator is distinct from that of 
Son, in which he also became, by his irradiated elements in 
worlds, the governor of all things. That is to say, having 
created, he now also governed by Law, which Law may 



THE FATHER, SON, AND HOLY GHOST. 361 

be regarded as the embodied Son or offspring. He is thus 
Father and Son ; or the source of elemental matter, and 
the diffused law that controls created elemental matter. 
As Holy Ghost, he further exists in man in the form of 
mind, or as the subtle spiritual principle. As Father, he 
creates ; as Son, he is law ; as Holy Ghost, he is the im- 
pulse to guide the creatures of law. God said, " Let us 
now make man in our own image — after our likeness;" 
that is, let us endow man with some of our qualities. He 
was accordingly created to govern the world, and was 
therefore supplied with mind, a function of the Creator. 
Man, therefore, comprises two persons in one — a mental 
and a physical being. His spiritual part is immortal, and 
exhibits the governing principle under the guidance of 
the Holy Ghost. Being the creature of Law, man can 
neither modify nor evade it. God, therefore, combines 
the attributes of three distinct personalities — Father, Son, 
and Holy Ghost.* 

Even before the creation of worlds, God was surrounded 
by angels or spirits representing the different irradiated 
offsprings of his Volition. When he began to create 
worlds, and to confer authority on his Son (embodying 
Law), certain of these angels rebelled, and because they 
sought to subvert Law, or harmony, or order, they were 
expelled into the regions of unreclaimed darkness. The 
chief of these was Satan. Under every form of dis- 
guise, he has since sought to subvert the Son in his ad- 
ministration of law. Although forever expatriated from 
heaven, he still preserves his immortality, with which he 
was clothed in the beginning, and which is consequently 
irrevocable, since God, having finished his work of crea- 
tion, now only governs by law, and has transferred the 

* These are but ideal speculations, and will of course be so regarded 
by the reader. — E. B. 



362 THE SEVENTH DAY— THE SABBATH. 

custody of the earth to his embodied Son. Satan, there- 
fore, is a rebel against the Son of God ; and having known 
the original decrees of heaven, and that the earth formed 
a portion of the plan of the Universe, he undertook its 
subjugation. Such w^as his sub til ty, that he not only 
deceived man (a creature of law), but also the angels 
guarding the gates of Paradise. Effecting an entrance 
into Eden, the beauty of the garden recalled vision^ of that 
ethereal paradise which he had forever lost. He traversed 
its broad and sinuous avenues, paved with sands of gold 
"unnumbered as the dust of Barca, or Gyrene's torrid 
soil." With stealthy eye, he traced its grotesque walls 
of alabaster, sinking into dim perspective. He stole into 
its secret grottos, walled with crystal amethyst, and 
ribbed arches of gnarled topaz. He contemplated its 
diked porphyry, rising upon the level plateaux in monu- 
mental piles to the glory of the Creator, glittering with 
intermingled clusters of massive diamonds, opals, and 
sapphires, like the stellar diadem of Night. Trees bowed 
low with the offering of their luscious fruit ; and the vine 
clung to the spreading oaks, tempting with her pulpy 
nectar. Leaping cascades, gushing fountains, expanding 
lakelets diffused their refreshing draughts to the thirsty 
sun ; while liberal Flora, from exhaustless stores, fed the 
fragrance-seeking breezes to balmy repletion. In the 
deep recesses of the wood, surrounded by their brooding 
mates and their unfledged young, myriads of plumaged 
warblers prolonged their happy strains, and bore higher 
and higher the universal anthems which animated Nature 
sent up, in harmonious accord, to the throne of the divine 
Creator. 

Thus stealthily stalked the angel of Evil from one object 
and scene to another, until all their varied features had been 
duly scanned ; while he secretly gloated over the impend- 
ing gloom (decreed in the bituminous caverns of hell), 



EVE TEMPTED BY SIN. 363 

which his machinations were now suspending over the 
young earth, like the web of a spider. Anon, he espied 
the secret bower, sacred to love and wedded bliss. On 
an elevated step, overlooking the glories of the paradise 
which stretched out in profuse luxuriance beneath, a 
Parian nook opened its chaste portals to the nuptial feast. 
From the top, clusters of amaranth diffused immortality 
upon the rosy couch ; while dahlias, geraniums, helio- 
tropes, myrtles, and olives, sacred to eternal love, devo- 
tion, holiness, and peace, twined their tendrils and their 
new-blown buds in long-drawn aisles and foliaged arches, 
to screen them from the peering sun. There, on sheets 
of silken down, newly hackled from gossamer cocoons, 
the progenitors of mankind resigned themselves to rest, 
locked in the arms of holy love ; 

" The loveliest pair 
That e'er in love's embraces metj 
Adam, the t^oodliest man of men, since born 
His sons; the fairest of her daughters Eve." 

In the very citadel of earthly bliss the tempter had 
already entered, in a dark disguise. Drawing near to the 
pillow of Eve, he deduced from their whispered speech 
that the ^ee of life was to them forbidden fruit ; and he 
infused the spirit of unrest in her dreams. He obtained a 
clew — the artful spider here found a beam from which to 
stretch his subtle web ; and now the angels of Sin sent up 
a shout, in anticipated triumph, that echoed through the 
parched and blistered gloom of their infernal caverns. He 
left the sleepers ere Uriel's sunbeams had arrived, and 
again transforming himself into a new shape, wandered 
among the cattle of the fields ; 

" For spirits, when they please, 
Can either sex assume, or both ; so soft 
And uncompounded is their essence pure; 



364 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

Not tied or manacled witli joint or limb, 

Nor foixnded on the brittle strength of bones, 

Like cumbrous flesh ; but in what shape they choose, 

Dilated or condensed, bright or obscure, 

Can execute their airy purposes. 

And works of love or enmity fulfill." 

In his present purpose, however, he assumed the body 
of the serpent, which he knew to possess " more subtilty 
than any beast of the field. " In this guise, he approached 
Eve, while she was alone, and engaged in training the 
flowers of Paradise. Struck with the beauty, and the 
extraordinary faculty of speech and intelligence which the 
serpent possessed, Eve unfortunately became interested 
in its discourse. Inquiring whence it had obtained such 
varied accomplishments and wisdom, it replied that they 
flowed from a certain tree in the garden, the fruit of which 
it had freely eaten ! The innocent curiosity of the mother 
of her race was at once aroused, and following the ser- 
pent to the spot, discovered that the tree in question was 
the forbidden tree of life. The serpent, with the freedom 
of levity, and with an air of affected sympathy and in- 
credulity, inquired, "Yea, hath Grod said, Ye shall not 
eat of every tree of the garden ?" To which poor Eve 
replied, half ashamed that she should be inferior to the 
serpent in the gratification of her tastes ; " We may eat 
of the fruit of the trees of the garden ; but of the fruit of 
the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath 
said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest 
ye die." To this the subtle villain again, with mock pity 
and commiseration, and with a half-suppressed smile at 
her innocent naivete, replied, "Ye shall not surely die; 
for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then 
your eyes shall be opened ; and ye shall he as gods, 
knowing good from evil." This certainly looked plausible, 
and the experience of the serpent seemed to confirm it; 



THE FALL OF ADAM. 365 

for if it could eat with impunity, and inherit wisdom, and 
live, why should not ^ue ? Alas ! 

"Neither man noi- angel can discern 
Hypocrisy, the only evil that walks 
Invisible, except to God alone, « 
By his permissive will, through heaven and earth ; 
And oft, though wisdom wake, suspicion sleeps 
At wisdom's gate, and to simplicity 
Resigns her charge, while goodness thinks no ill 
Where no ill seems !" 

The woman fell, and brought down her husband with 
her ; for when Adam perceived that she had violated the 
direct and express command of God, he was confounded 
with conflicting emotions — love for the lost woman, whose 
crime might perhaps be palliated by his own participation, 
or his happiness jeopardized in her death ; fear of the just 
retribution of God, and yet a longing desire for the 
wisdom which the fruit could impart ; credulity in the 
experience of the serpent, because manifest to all the 
senses, and yet a lurking suspicion of its honor and integ- 
rity — all these struggled in the excited mind of Adam, 
and he grasped the forbidden fruit as with uncontrollable 
desperation. They ate ! For a time the effect was ex- 
hilarating, like the juice of the grape. Their carnal 
natures were inflamed — they burned ^ith voluptuous 
desire — their veins swelled, and their cheeks flushed, and 
staggering, they fell to the ground ! They slept, but it 
was now the sleep of remorse and exhausted naturie, 
instead of innocence and peace. They awoke — not to 
the smiles of hope, and virtue, and harmony ; but to 
mutual shame, recriminations, bickerings, distrust, and 
reproach. In short, all the dark and damning passions of 
sin — disobedience, lust, falsehood, jealousy, revenge, and 
all their horrid train, marshaled by Sickness, Disease, and 
Death ; — all the polluted spirits of the infernal regions 



366 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

arose from the earth like spectres, and became installed in 
the world — raising their arms against law and harmony — 
against peace and good- will — against virtue and love — 
and asserted dominion over Adam and his captive race ! 

Why, it may be asked, did not God place them beyond 
the power of disobedience ? Why involve them in a 
position in which they would be exposed to the assaults 
of sin ? To this it may be suggested that it was not the 
plan of the Creator to people worlds with absolute Gods. 
He had a purpose to subserve, decreed in the beginning. 
Man was his servant, owing to his law implicit obedience, 
but endowed with reason to obey or not. He was pro- 
vided with every earthly comfort — he was warned of his 
danger — and thus left free to act ! Had he been endowed 
with higher qualities, heaven would have been his proper 
sphere at once, not earth ; but made as a servant of God, 
his subsequent promotion depended on his implicit obedi- 
ence to law. 

Now, after Adam's transgression, God placed enmity 
between the seed of the serpent and that of Eve, and 
doomed Satan to crawl upon the earth in the character or 
form he had thus assumed. The serpent, therefore, is the 
personification of evil — first : because when coiled, it is 
emblematic of eternity, or the original immortality of 
angels ; second : when wounded or dismembered in its ex- 
terior parts, it has the power of renewing the lost flesh ; 
third: it changes its skin during the vernal season, thus 
renewing its youth with increasing age; fourth: its 
poisonous secretions, and needle-like fangs, are often fatal 
to man, and significant of his original fall ; and fifth : its 
movement is stealthy, noiseless, and slimy, eluding grasp, 
and reoi^ily accommodating its body to the most contracted 
retreats — all of which are significant parallels of those 
subtle spirits which haunt, annoy, and destroy the peace 
and happiness of mankind. Besides all this, there is an 



At)AM'S PUNISHMENT. 35*^ 

inherent dread of serpents in the human species, notwith- 
standing that it is one of the most beautiful, graceful, and 
agile animals that God has created. Its very appearance 
occasions an irresistible nervous tremor — a secret shudder, 
which it is impossible to control. We thus perceive that 
the enmity between the two races, is universal and 
palpable ; but this is not all. Man has the power of 
bruising its head — its vital and only dangerous part. He, 
therefore has the power of destroying evil — while in re- 
turn, the serpent only bruises man's heel, or his fleshly 
part, thus indicating tliat no part of man is liable to its 
attacks if he treads not in the paths of evil, where only the 
serpent is concealed. It is a singular and extraordinary 
fact, that what seem to be tlie most simple and common- 
]-)lace expressions in the Bible, are in truth invariably 
pregnant with volumes of meaning, all of which are de- 
veloped upon the most casual investigation of the funda- 
mental laws of nature. It isthese, among thousands of 
other coincident features, that establish its divine inspira- 
tion beyond all doubt or cavil, while, at the same time, 
much that still remains obscure and dubious to our im- 
perfect comprehension, will ultimately be revealed by in- 
vestigation of nature's laws. 

In decreeing Adam's punishment, God cursed the 
ground for his sake — he did not impair, or blight, or afflict 
any of his physical functions. The punishment may 
appear severe, but no one can question its wisdom. Had 
he inflicted personal injury to the race, it would certainly 
have savored of cruelty ; but he merely cursed the ground. 
And how, and why ? He caused noxious weeds, and 
plants, and trees, to grow spontaneously, and with extra- 
ordinary prolificacy, at the same time that blight, barren- 
ness, disease, and death, attacked the fruits. In Adam's 
fallen condition, bodily and mental exercise became 
absolutely essential. Idleness is the prolific; mother of 
24 



THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

sin, and the great Creator saw that to save the race of 
man, he must be furnished with employment. Hence he 
cursed the ground, and consigned Adam and his children 
to the task of subduing and tilling it. Under the circum- 
stances, it was no punishment at all — it was a benevolent, 
kind, and fatherly act, for it saved mankind from the 
ennui, the ^idleness, remorse, and languor that would in- 
evitably have resulted in the ultimate extinguishment of 
the race, or in its effeminate degeneracy to that abject 
weakness, in which it would have fallen a prey to the 
predaceous animals. To poor deceived Eve, he simply 
multiplied the sorrows of her conception — a punishment 
which, after all, is scarcely greater than that visited on 
the inferior animals. And yet, who can fail to detect 
Almighty wisdom and benevolence in this ? Had her con- 
ception brought with it no pains and pangs, no sorrows 
and troubles, and apprehensions, what a world of beastly 
profligacy and prostitution we should have had ! It is 
absolutely terrible and horrible to contemplate. The holy 
institution of marriage, the divine sentiment of love, of 
parental affection, and domestic virtue would not, and 
could not, have existed on the earth ; but unbridled licen- 
tiousness, beastly sexual intercourse, harlotry, and de- 
bauchery would have reigned unchecked and supreme. 
Punishment, indeed I It is just such punishment as a 
loving parent, knowing the weakness of his child, would 
inflict Tinder the pretext of a terrible corrective, but in 
reality a wise and benevolent protection from impending 
calamity, already brought down upon its head by unre- 
strained liberty. The whole history of mankind and of 
individuals, reveals nothing but the utmost benevolence 
of the Creator — love, forbearance, anticipation of his needs 
and rational desires, forgiveness, partiality, and parental 
fondness. There is hardly a creature, a vegetable, a 
jewel, or a substance of any sort whatever, above, beneath, 



I 



THE DIVINITY OP CHRIST. 369 

or in the bowels of the earth or seas, that is not made 
tributary to his wants or to his childish fancies and 
desires. He is an infant that tumbles into every sort of 
mishap, and not the watchful care of all the angels of 
heaven can restrain him from mischief, or from the in- 
jurious contact of the prowling cormorants of sin and 
folly ! 

But, we are told, Grod put enmity between the seed 
of the serpent and that of the woman. What further 
meaning has this sentence, in addition to that already 
presumed ? Wherefore seed of the woman ? Satan se- 
duced woman ; he leveled his poisoned shafts at the 
weaker vessel, not at the strongest. To render his punish- 
ment the more poignant, therefore, God redresses the 
wrongs of woman through the strength or seed of woman. 
He caused the Virgin Mary to conceive in holy immacula- 
tion — the spirit of God descended in her, and she brought 
forth Christ in the image of man. Christ assumed the 
cause of his fallen race, and armed in the holy panoply of 
heaven, lived, suffered, and died like a god. Thus the 
human race was cleansed, purified, reborn, as it were, 
through his spiritual incarnation ; and man again stands 
redeemed and disinthralled from the manacles of Satan. 
But as a servant of God, he owes obedience. He must 
not transgress his laws — he must not again eat forbidden 
fruit. He must believe in Christ, that is, he must believe 
in and exemplify the doctrines taught and practically illus- 
trated in the whole life, actions, and doctrines of Christ. 
He is at once the head and front, the very incarnation of 
law ; and by pursuing the course he lays down, ever- 
lasting peace and good-will on earth, and felicity in 
heaven will be secured. He did not come upon the earth 
to destroy the law previously established, but rnther to ex- 
emplify it in his own incarnation ; he came not to destroy, 
but to fulfill, and thus it is that Chri^Hanity vnll ultimately 



370 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

govern the whole earth, and by its equitable operations, 
rescue all mankind from the doom that would otherwise 
befall them. Much has been said and written regarding the 
divinity of Christ. One thing is certain,— he was a pure 
man, and this character is little inferior to that of a god, 
since it inherits God's kingdom, and secures immor- 
tality. But every thing tends to confirm his divinity. 
If he were not divine, he himself was a deceived man — 
nay, worse ; he lived and died a wicked man. But where 
was the motive for deception ? He did not assume 
worldly pomp — he did not covet regal splendor — nor 
princely luxury — nor wealth, nor temporal applause, 
honor, or station I No ! His whole life was directly the 
reverse. He was poor and despised. He was jeered and 
scoffed. He was a wanderer — without a home — without 
courtly friends — without a pillow to lay down at night, 
or a roof to shelter him from the storm. He was poor, 
indeed ! And yet, what philosopher of any age or clime 
has promulgated doctrines more in harmony with the 
higher decrees of heaven ? What man, since the fall of 
Adam, has lived a purer, a more holy, and angelic life ? 
He was without reproach. Like the lamb, he could " Hck 
the hand just raised to shed his blood !" He was the 
personification of wisdom. His words were more cutting 
and more powerful than swords I And yet his mission 
was not to destroy, but to save. His object was love — 
not gain. He wanted souls — not wealth. 

Either, then, he was divine or he was not. It will not 
sufl&ce that he was a monomaniac in Religion, gifted with 
extraordinary accomplishments and wisdom, and powers 
of meek suffering and endurance. A diseased mind is 
always arbitrary, incoherent, feverish. His was not ; on 
the contrary, it was strong, flexible, persistent, and logical. 
It was controlled by god-like reason and wisdom, and no 
devices or arguments of man or devil could withstand its 



THE DIVINITY OP CHRIST. 371 

pointed barbs. If he was not divine, and especially ap- 
pointed by heaven, he deceived himself and his devoted 
apostles, and added to the enormity of a life of imposture, 
eternal fraud, falsehood, and perjury. But in the face of 
his spotless life, his holy work, his unrecompensed suffer- 
ing, persecution, and death, is it not absolutely sacrilegious 
to doubt his divinity ? Can any one study his character, 
motives, and actions, and discover any thing like human 
frailty, pride, vanity, selfishness, ambition, or folly ? 
CaBsar, Pompey, Xerxes, Alexander, Hannibal, and all the 
great captains of the earth, before and after him, sought 
the glory of States and of National power; — but he, with- 
out arms and munitions of war ; without Senates or pomp- 
ous oracles ; without games, feasts, statues, paintings, or 
idolatrous images, yet sought no less an object than the 
redemption and conversion of the world, past, present, and 
future, — and that, with no other instrument than his in- 
spired words and deeds! Living in the most critical, 
learned, and voluptuous age that had yet dawned upon the 
earth, — in the very zenith of Roman, Grecian, and Persian 
renown — an age of Poetry, Philosophy, Science, Art, 
Literature, Architecture, Oratory, Music, Diplomacy, and 
Civil Government — an age whose heroes stand before time 
in long lines of historical statues ; — living, preaching, 
suffering, and dying in such an age?, and at such a time, 
yet not a single speck or blemish could be detected in his 
person, manners, doctrines, or motives — exposed, as he 
constantly was, to all the assaults and blandishments 
of the wicked I Xot the shadow of a defect could bo 
po'nted out in his proffered scheme of salvation. His 
doctrines were the sublimated essence of all wisdom and 
philosophy, based as they were, and are, upon faith, obe- 
dience, love, and virtue. 

The fall of Adam and his species, it is claimed, was thus 
compensated by the implied promise of this very Saviour 



3t2 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

— hence the enmity between the serpent and the descen- 
dants of Eve. Adam saw in this arrangement the future 
regeneration of his race, and by its retroaction upon the 
past, that of himself. This consoling promise saved him 
from again relapsing into the arms of sin, and under it he 
died a good and holy man. Had no such hope existed, 
he might again have embarrassed the plans of the Creator 
by self-destruction, or that of his doomed issue. But God, 
it would seem, was merciful, and did all for the best, but 
in a manner ^^eculiarly his own. Alll his acts and works 
seem dim to our feeble and limited vision ; but when we 
view them through the glass of familiar Nature, they are 
all sufficiently plain and simple. He not only cheered the 
unfortunate couple with this promise, but furnished him- 
self the skins to clothe them. With sad and subdued 
hearts, he then led them out of the Paradise they had 
desecrated, lest they should be tempted to eat of the fruit 
of the tree of life, and thus live forever in their fallen 
state. 

Although but three of Adam's sons, and none of his 
daughters are named in the Bible, it is very likely that 
his family was numerous. These, from the necessity of 
the case, must have intermarried, and extended their set- 
tlements in various directions, though not in the more 
remote continents of the earth. The Bible deals only 
with such names and circumstances as are essential to the 
prominent facts of its text — leaving minor details to be 
inferred. Therefore, considering the early habits of man- 
kind, — their pastoral occupation and general non-commer- 
cial and non-manufacturing character, we may conclude 
that but a small portion of the earth's surface was popu- 
lated during the sixteen hundred years that intervened 
between the marriage of Adam and the birth of the three 
sons of Noah. Such, too, was the longevity of the ante- 
diluvian race, that but a verv few generations could have 



THE NOACHIAN FLOOD. 3T3 

flourished during this period ; and as there could have 
been no necessity for their distant migration, so we 
have no right to infer that, up to the time of the flood, 
any of Adam's descendants wandered far. off from the 
original centre of creation. But such was the inherent 
wickedness of the race, that Grod determined to wash it 
from the earth — preserving, however, its concentrated 
virtue and wisdom in Noah and his family. From the 
fact that Noah is represented as ''perfect in his genera- 
tions," it is concluded that the promised seed of the Sa- 
viour had descended to him, and thence through Abraham 
to Mary, the immaculate mother of Christ. It is impossible 
for us to dwell upon the religious aspect of the history of the 
antediluvian race ; we merely purpose to consider the phe- 
nomenon of the Noachic flood, and the remarks thus far 
offered arc only intended as a connecting link between 
the close of the Sixth Day and the dawn of the ensuing 
Sabbath. The enmity which God placed between the 
seed of Evil and that of Eve, it will be thus observed, was 
brought to another crisis in the deluge, and to its culmi- 
nating point in the birth of Christ. 

In reference to the flood, nothing appears more certain 
than its universality ; and it is therefore a matter of as- 
tonishment that men standing high as Theologians should 
undertake to dispute it. Among the most recent, and 
perhaps the most plausible doubters, was the late lamented 
Hugh Miller, who brings to the support of his views the 
testimony of some of the most distinguished Doctors of 
Divinity. The whole premises of these distinguished 
Christian-doubters can be demolished with a single word : 
if the flood was onl}- partial, and confined (as they allege) 
to a small area, where was the necessity of the ark? Why 
could not God have removed Noah and his faniih^ and 
the animals of the earth, to the adjacent districts or con- 
tinents that remained ansabmergcd f Yet these plausible 



3T4 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

Christian philosophers (embracing bishops, doctors, 
vicars, and laymen without number,) fill volumes to ex- 
plain and apologize for the supposed errors of Revelation, 
as if the word of God were a series of bungling errors. I 
confess I have no respect either for the learning or the 
religious integrity of such men. They would have the 
world believe that the Bible, as it stands, is true ; and yet 
they write unnumbered scientific homilies to prove that it 
is a fable, a farce, and a cheat. 

God communicated to Noah his reasons for decreeing 
the destruction of the animated earth. He became dis- 
gusted with the folly and wickedness of mau — " seeing 
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was 
only evil continually." He repented that he had made 
man, or beast, or bird ; for on looking upon the earth, he 
could see nothing but corruption,* in which all flesh was 
alike involved. To his faithful old servant he said, " The 
end of all flesh is come before me ; for the earth is filled 
with violence through them ; and behold, I will destroy 
them with the earth" (that is, he will use the earth which 
they were abusing to effect their destruction). He ordered 
Noah, therefore, to build an ark, and gave him the direc- 
tions as follows : '' The length of the ark shall be three 
hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the 
height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to 
the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above : and 
the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; 
with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make 
it." 

The Scripture cubit, according to Sir Isaac Newton, 
is a- fraction over twenty inches ; but, according to 
Bishop Wilkins, it is over twenty-one inches. Tlijs may, 
or may not, be true ; but assuming either of them to be 
correct, or approximating the true length, the dimensions 
of the ark would be as follows : Length between perpen- 



noah's ark and the great eastern. 375 

diculars, 515 or 54t feet ; breadth, 85 or 91 feet ; depth, 
51 or 54 feet; keel, or tonnage capacity, 464 or 492 feet, 
which would give a tonnage of from 18,500 to 22,000 
tons. A parallel to Noah's ark is presented in the steam- 
ship Great Eastern, which recently visited our shores. 
The length of this Leviathan of the deep is, I believe, 
680 feet, breadth 83 feet, depth 58 feet, keel 639 feet, and 
capacity 23,000 tons. But this is exclusive of her en- 
gines and propelling machinery, and of her elaborate fur- 
niture, fixtures, and properties — none of which encumbered 
the plain vessel of Noah. Besides, all these estimates are 
made for live freight ; — the actual tonnage of the Great 
Eastern, if laden with iron, would probably be over 
26,000 tons, and that of the ark would have been in pro- 
portion. Her machinery and properties occupy at least 
one-half of her space, and one-half of her carrying capa- 
city, which would thus raise her tonnage to nearly fifty 
thousand tons. And in this view, according to the cubic 
standard of Newton or Wilkins, the carrying capacity of 
the ark would be considerably augmented, and might be 
safely computed, on the basis already presented, as nearly, if 
not fully equal to the G-reat Eastern, without her machinery. 
This would give at least forty thousand tons burden for 
live freight. An idea of the enormous dimensions of the 
Great Eastern may be formed from the fact, that she pre- 
sents as much available room, and could carry the com- 
bined freight, of ten of our largest war vessels. Thus, the 
tonnage of the steamer Pennsylvania, which used to be 
regarded as the giant of the ocean, is 3,211 tons ; that of 
the Columbus, 2,489 tons; the Ohio, 2,75t; the North 
Carolina, 2,633; the Delaware, 2,633 ; Vermont, 2,633 ; 
New Orleans, 2,805 ; Alabama, 2,683 ; Virginia, 2,633 ; 
and the New York, 2,633— making a total of over 28,000 
tons. These steamers are all of the largest class, and yet 
all combined are barely equal to the Great Eastern ! And 



3T6 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

after removing their macliinery, the whole would present 
an aggregate of storage surface very little superior to the 
great ark of Noah. Now, if this great steamer subserves 
no other purpose, it will at least demonstrate that it is 
sufficiently capacious to constitute a menagerie of all the 
terrestrial animal species now living! 

Hugh Miller, however, with characteristic special plead- 
ing (in his Testimony of the Bocks), brings down the 
dimensions of the ark to 450 feet in length, 15 feet in 
breadth, and 45 in height. He accomplishes this feat by 
an ingenious analysis of the modes of measuring adopted 
by some of his provincial countrymen. " There," says he, 
''is the span, the palm, the hand-breadth, the thumb- 
breadth (or inch), the hair-breadth, and the foot. The 
simple fisherman on our coasts still measures ojff his 
fathoms by stretching out both his arms to the full ; the 
village seamstress still tells off her cloth-breadths by 
finger-lengths and nails; the untaught tiller of the soil 
still estimates the area of his little field by pacing along 
its sides." According to this system of measurement it is 
obvious that every thing depends on the physical propor- 
tions of the measurer. The fathoms of a big Scotch fish- 
erman would certainly exceed those of Tom Thumb ; 
while the pedal extremities of the " untaught tiller of the 
soil" would enlarge or decrease the area of his "little 
field" exactly as they happened to be large or small. The 
Irish clod-hopper, by this rule, might easily obtain broader 
acres than the Chinese rat-catcher. But even if this 
standard were adopted, Noah's ark would rather be en- 
larged than decreased. The same chapter that specifies 
the dimensions of the ark in cubits, informs us that "there 
were giants in the earth in those days ; and also after that 
when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, 
and they bare children unto them; the same became 
mighty men, which were of old men of renown " Now, 



SIR WALTER RALEIGH AND NOAH'S ARK. 377 

if the ark was built during an age of giants, of men re- 
nowned for tlieir mighty proportions, and the cubit was a 
measure of some portion of the human frame, (as Miller 
says it was, and still is,) instead of its having been 450 
feet in length, it was most likely six or more hundred feet, 
and had a tonnage capacity in exact proportion ! And 
this, after all, is just as likely to be correct as any of the 
estimates since proposed. Miller, however, adopts the 
dimensions according to the cubit already given ; and then 
proceeds to consider how the animals could be accommo- 
dated in the ark. He calls to his aid Sir Walter Raleigh, 
an experienced seaman, who proceeds to pack them in 
after the following manner. " If in a ship of such great- 
ness" — (it was a square, flat-bottomed ark, without masts, 
spars, or rigging !) — "if in a ahip of such greatness," says 
Sir Walter, " we seek room for eighty-nine distinct species 
of beasts, or, lest any should be omitted, for a hundred 
several kinds, we shall easily find place both for them and 
for the birds, which in bigness are no Vv^ay answerable to 
them, and for meat to sustain them all. For there are 
three sorts of beasts whose bodies are of a quantity well 
known; the beef, the sheep, and the wolf; to which the 
rest may be reduced by saying, according to Aristotle, 
that one elephant is equal to four beeves, one lion to two 
wolves, and so of the rest. Of beasts, some feed on vege- 
tables, others on flesh. There are one-and-thirty kinds 
of the greater sort feeding on vegetables, of which number 
only three are clean, according to the law of Moses, 
whereof seven of a kind entered into the ark, namely, 
three couples for breed, and one for sacrifice ; the other 
eight-and-twenty kinds were taken by two of each kind ; 
so that in all there were in the ark one-and-twenty great 
bea.st3 clean, and six-and-fifty unclean ; estimable for 
largeness as ninety-one beeves: yet, for a supplement 
(lest, perhaps, any species be omitted), let them be valued 



3t8 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

as a hundred and twenty beeves. Of the lesser sort, feed- 
ing on vegetables, were in the ark six-and-twenty kinds, 
estimable, with good allowance for supply, as four-score 
sheep. Of those which devour flesh, were two -and- thirty 
kinds, answerable to three-score and four wolves. All 
these two hundred and eighty beasts might be kept in 
one story or room of the ark, in their several cabins ; their 
meat in a second ; the birds and their provision in a third, 
with space to spare for Noah and his family, and all their 
necessaries." 

This estimate of Raleigh's was made nearly two cen- 
turies ago, and instead of there being but eighty or one 
hundred and twenty species of animals on the earth, as 
then estimated, discoveries made in the mean time have 
raised the number, large and small, of all the different 
species, to several thousand. Up to this time, every 
known region of the earth has been visited and fully ex- 
plored, and the animal kingdom is found to embrace the 
number of species as follows : Quadrumana 170 ; Marsu- 
pial! a 123 ; Edentata 28 ; Pachydermata 39 ; Terrestrial 
Carnivora 514; Rodentia 604; Ruminantia 180; Birds 
6,266 ; Reptiles 657 ; Turtles, etc. 15 — making a grand 
total of living species of 8,596. This embraces all the 
animals of the globe, large and small, from the minute 
mouse up to the elephant. It must be borne in mind, 
however, (as we have all along warned the reader,) that 
much diversity exists in the systems of classification 
adopted by Naturalists. What one Zoologist would 
divide into three classes, another arranges under two : 
what one divides into five orders or tribes, another will 
arrange in three ; what one separates into eight families 
or sub-families, another can dispose of in four or five ; and 
w^hat one will spread out into ten, twenty, or thirty 
species, another will embrace in five, ten, or fifteen. 
Thus, the feline animals comprise many species, the num- 



LENGTH OF THE SCRIPTURE CUBIT. 3T9 

ber of wMch might, witli propriety, be greatly reduced. 
And so with nearly every division of the animal kingdom. 
Species, as ordinarily used, implies a general, not an exact 
resemblance to the parents. It could easily be demon- 
strated that climate, external circumstances, and the con- 
trolling exigencies of necessity have created more species 
in the classifications of Naturalists than primarily existed 
in the original progenitors of the Animal Kingdom. But 
to enter upon a discussion of this point here, would ap- 
pear hypercritical, and might be regarded as an evasion of 
the main question. We despise any such pretexts or sub- 
terfuges, and should still rely on the abundant capacities 
of the ark to accommodate them all, if the number of 
species were twice as great as is now claimed — for the 
question involved is not as to the number of animals, but 
simply as to the dimensions and capacities of the ark. 
And this, singularly enough, and in the face of the exact 
and explicit language of Scripture, turns upon the value 
of the cubit. In ordinary, the cubit is the ulna, or bone 
which extends from the elbow to the wrist ; but in modern 
mensuration, it represents the length of a man's arm from 
the elbow to the extremity of the middle finger. Webster 
observes that the standard length of the ancient cubit 
varied with different nations, as we know the length of 
the hand and the ulna vary with different individuals. 
With most men, the ulna seldom exceeds eleven inches, 
and the hand, from the wrist joint to the point of the mid- 
dle finger, rarely exceeds seven and a half inches. The 
two combined, in our largest individuals, would perhaps 
reach nineteen inches. The Roman cubit, according to 
Dr. Arbuthnot, was seventeen inches and four-tenths, and 
that of England eighteen inches. The Scripture cubit is 
defined as being a fraction less than twenty-two inches ; 
but as to the antediluvian cubit, we have no positive in- 
formation. If, however, the average lengtli of the ulna 



380 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

and Tiand of men now living be estimated at nineteen or 
twenty inches, we are entitled to infer that, during the 
race of giants which flourished before and after Noah's 
era, they averaged from twenty-one to twenty-two inches. 
The cubit, thus graduated, would make the ark quite as 
large as the Great Eastern, and, leaving out her machin- 
ery, masts, and ordinary sailing and propelling properties, 
the tonnage capacity of such a vessel might be estimated, 
in round numbers, 2X fifty thousand tons. But, not to ap- 
pear unreasonable in our estimate, we will say — according 
to the twenty-two inch cubit of Newton — that the ton- 
nage of the ark, for lire stock, was at least equal to 
twenty thousand tons, of twenty-two hundred and forty 
lbs each, or to 44,800,000 lbs. This is considerably less 
than the capacity *of the Great Eastern, even including 
her five or six steam engines, her steam pumps and life- 
boats, 'her sails, masts, and rigging. 

As to the structure of this enormous boat, llut little 
need be said. The timber was close at hand, and its 
architecture, though simple and rude, was yet substantial. 
It was, simply, a gigantic flat-bottomed boat, with three 
stories, instead of one, exclusive of the roof or deck. 
Like the small plank and lumber arks that annually de- 
scend our rivers, its joints were carefully caulked and 
pitched ; and this was all that the circumstances required. 
It was not intended to ride the waves and storms of 
ocean, but rather to be borne gradually up along the sink- 
ing land, like a vessel during the flowing in of high tide. 

A difficulty has been suggested as to how the animals 
came to Noah ; but if the other end of the proposition 
were presented, there would be no difficulty at all. The 
animals did not come to Noah ; Noah went to them. 
His orders were specific, and he obeyed them. But how ? 
Did he or his agents wander over the earth, armed with 
spears, and lasso, and traps to hunt down and capture 



DID NOAH SELECT YOUNG OR OLD ANIMALS? 381 

the animals ? or, like a man of sense, taking a practical 
view of the enterprise committed to him, did he merely 
seek the young of each species, and arrange them in a 
general cosmopolitan menagerie, to be trained to the voy- 
age they were to undergo ? We have no right to suppose 
that Noah was an ignorant, simple-minded, old man ; on 
the contrary, he was eminent for his wisdom and virtue. 
He was, consequently, fully equal to the great enterprise 
with which God intrusted him. Being a man of practical 
sense, therefore, his obvious policy was to obtain young 
animals ; first, because they would be more tractable 5 
second, because they would occupy less space in the ark ; 
third, because they would not encumber the ark with 
brood ; and fourth, because their powers of recuperation 
would afterward be superior to those of adult animals ; 
and fifth, because they would require less forage for their 
keeping. Would not the cubs of the bear, the lion, the 
tiger, the elephant, rhinoceros — the calves of the herd, of 
camels and horses, and the young of all quadrupeds, 
answer his purpose better, in every point of view, than the 
full-grown animals ? Would snakes a week old, not 
suffice as well, (or rather better,) than boas and vipers 
twenty feet in length ? Was it necessary to fill his ark 
with antiquated oxen, and elephants, and camels, that had 
done service in the plow or the caravan ? Must he 
select poor old spavined horses, toothless lions, and tigers, 
and bears, when the little cubs would best correspond 
with the object of his mission? The idea is too absurd 
to be entertained. 

That the ark, indeed, was filled with the young of 
each species, is manifest in the fact that no births oc- 
curred on board, although the vessel was afloat for 
one hundred and fifty days. ,, This, remark, of course, 
applies only to the larger quadrupeds ; for among that 
somewhat numerous and diminutive class, whose ex- 



382 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

istence is limited to a few montlis, the propagation of 
the species must have continued uninterrupted. A 
similar exception may be made for birds, among whom 
the process of incubation must have been constantly main- 
tained. As it required many years to huild the ark, 
there was abundant time to collect the animals. And as 
these occupied but a comparatively small geographical 
area, and were still under the dominion, and many of them 
in the service of man, there was really little difficulty in 
bringing them together. The lion and the tiger had little 
of the ferocity which, in their nativ^e jungles, distinguishes 
them now. The whole animal creation, like man him- 
self, was originally of a more subdued and tractable na- 
ture than it has since become. And, mainly confined to 
the area then occupied by the human species, it required 
no extraordinary efforts to bring them together, or to 
collect a menagerie of specimens. The species that may 
have wandered off into other continents, if they left no 
descendants at home, necessarily became extinct after the 
flood. The Bible says so, and Geology proves it. The 
earth teems with their fossil remains, and the extinct are 
buried in the same strata with those of the representatives 
of living species. Their number, however, was compara- 
tively small ; for the great bulk of all the animals of the 
antediluvian earth continued within the range of the orig- 
inal circle of the Adamite Creation. But while some of 
them may, and did wander off, and even reach distant 
continents, most of the original types, or progenitors of 
species, remained behind, and came into the ark of Noah. 
There is no fact in the entire range of Geological dis- 
covery, more palpable and overwhelming than this. It 
forms a line of separation between the fauna of the past 
and the present, as broad as the continents themselves. 
From facts that are thul clear, it is easy to follow the 



INTERIOR ARRANGEMENT OF THE ARK. 38S 

foot-prints of others more obscure, and bring order out of 
a seeming chaos. 

But let as now inquire how the animals can be accommo- 
dated. The ark, we will suppose, on the basis of a 
twenty -two inch cubit, to have been 600 feet in length, 
and 100 feet in width. This would give us an area of 
60,000 square feet to each floor, making an aggregate of 
180,000 square feet for the three stories, exclusive of the 
cabin under the roof for Noah and his family, and for the 
storage of such articles as could occupy the deck of the 
vessel. We, of course, cannot assume to understand the 
real interior plan or structure of the ark, but presume it 
was extremely simple. We can suppose it to have been 
divided into stalls, running lengthwise with the ark, and 
separated by narrow alleys for drainage, and to allow the 
passage to and fro of the grooms of the animals. The 
first two ranges of stalls, extending along both sides of 
the vessel, we shall devote to the cubs of the larger 
animals — as the elephant, the rhinoceros, the camel, the 
horse, the domestic cattle, including the buffalo, the bison, 
and the elk, moose, and deer. These, although extremely 
numerous in all parts of the earth, comprise but few 
species ; sc^cely more, in fact, than originally estimated 
by Sir Walter Raleigh. He computed them at eighty- 
nine, but his magnanimity extended the number to one 
hundred, which he estimated in bulk as equal to 120 
beeves. We, however, will double the liberal estimate of 
the gallant chevalier. We w^ill suppose that there are 
now living 200 of the larger animal species, counting from 
the elephant to the horse. Of these animals that went 
into the ark, according to the Mosaic law, some were 
clean and others unclean. For the sake of facilitating our 
estimate, we will suppose 200 of the former, and 400 of 
the latter — in all 600 animals provided for in the ark. 
Adding 20 per cent, to equalize their bulk, we have a 
25 



384 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

number equal to seven hundred and twenty head of 
cattle. This, of course, is based upon the theory oi full- 
grown animals — a proposition which cannot be allowed 
for a moment, because it is at war with all reason and 
common sense. We take it for an absolute certainty that 
all the larger animal species were represented by cubs or 
young, for the reasons already stated. The young of all 
classes of the large animals, but especially those of the 
elephant, rhinoceros, bison, etc., are very slow in their 
growth and development, and for several years do not ex- 
ceed the proportions of an adult bear. Those of most of 
the others are even smaller, as cattle, the moose, deer, etc. 
It would be safe, therefore, to compute the average size 
of all as equal to \\\q bear, agreeably to the basis of 
Raleigh and Aristotle. Instead, therefore, of '720 head of 
cattle, we now have 720 hears to provide for, the aggre- 
gate of whose bulk occupies the same relation to the former 
as their weight. That is, if the t20 cattle averaged 1,200 
lbs. each, the bears would not average more than 300 lbs., 
or one fourth. This, we think, is a liberal allowance, and 
contemplates cubs more than one-half developed (for 
weight generally increases only with the adult animal) 
Instead of 864,000 lbs., we thus have but 216^000 lbs., or 
Instead of the bulk of 120 cattle, we now have that of T20 
hears. Now, if we suppose the first floor of the ark to 
have been apportioned into ranges of stalls, corresponding 
in size to the animals to be accommodated, an estimate of 
the quantity of superficial feet, occupied, can readily be 
formed. Thus, the stalls ranging along the sides of the 
vessel, might be partitioned into apartments averaging 8 
feet in lateral depth, and 6 feet in width. The ark being 
600 feet long, would thus afford two hundred stalls of this 
uniform width. The animals being reduced to the average 
size of bears, three and a half of them could be accommo- 
dated in each stall, and leave abundant room for their 



AERANGEMENT OP THE ANIMALS IN THE ARK 385 

movement backward and forward. The Koyal Bengal 
tiger and his mate, or the African lions, are often confined 
in the cages of menageries, to areas relatively very much 
smaller. Allowing three and a half animals, therefore, to 
each stall, we can provide for seven hundred in the two 
ranges along the sides. We thus dispose of all the large 
animals, except twenty, which can be hereafter provided 
for in other stalls. 

We have thus taken sixteen feet from the one hundred 
feet width of the ark. Allowing two passages or alleys, 
each ,3 feet wide, we now erect two other ranges of double 
stalls, running parallel with the first-mentioned, the entire 
length of the ark. These, instead of eight feet in depth, 
will be but Jive ; and instead of six feet in width, will be 
but four. Two double ranges would thus give 150 to 
each range, or 600 stalls in all. In these could be ac- 
commodated the cubs of what may be classed as second- 
class animals — such as the bear, the lion, the tiger, the 
leopard, the panther, the jaguar, sheep, swine, goats, etc. 
Four of the cubs of these animals could be placed in each 
stall, and we should be able to provide comfortably for 
2,400 individuals, or twelve hundred progenitors of 
species. Allowing 250 species for the 120 large animals, 
we should thus far have a total of 3,120 animals, and 1,450 
species ; while the room thus far occupied is but 48 per 
cent, of the width of the ark, and perhaps not one-sixtieth 
part of its actual tonnage capacity. 

Leaving two other alleys, each 2-J feet wide, we shall 
again extend two double rows of stalls the whole length 
of the ark. Instead of five feet in depth, we shall have 
these hut four ; and instead of four feet in width, we shall 
make them three. We should thus have two hundred 
stalls in each range, making for the four ranges, eight 
hundred in all. These stalls would suffice for the cubs of 
third class animals — such as dogs, cats, armadillos, sloths, 



386 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

chincliillas, foxes, rabbits, pigs, dogs, hares, beavers, 
wolves, etc. These could be stalled in fours, but we will 
say an average of three — making a total of 2,400 indi- 
viduals, and 1,200 species, and summing up an aggregate, 
thus far, of 5,520 animals, and about 2,650 species. 
These stalls and alleys have absorbed 21 feet of the 
width of the ark, which, added to the previous 48 feet, 
make 69 feet in all. Of the tonnage, not over one-fiftieth 
part has been absorbed. 

We now again leave two alleys, each 2J feet wide, and 
then arrange two more sets of double stalls. These, 
instead of four, will be 3j feet deep, and instead of three 
feet in width, will be but two. Consequently, each range 
will have 300 stalls, or in all, 1,200. In these we shall 
place the young of the animals of the fourth class — such 
as civets, weasels, ferrets, martins, pole-cats, sables, otters, 
moles, Guinea-pigs, squirrels, jerboas, marmots, rats, mice, 
— though many of them, being aquatic, need hardly be 
provided for. Four of these could again be accommodated 
in each stall, making an aggregate of 4,800 animals, and, 
say, 2,400 species. Added to the others, we have thus 
far arranged for 10,320 individuals, and 5,050 species. 
We have occupied 88 feet of the 100 feet Avidth of the ark, 
leaving 12 feet to our credit. We will appropriate this 
space to two alleys, each two feet wide, with a double 
row of stalls down the centre, for a distance of 500 feet, 
leaving the remainder to be occupied by the cubs of the 
twent}'- large animals hitherto unprovided for. The stalls 
thus erected would be 3i feet in depth, by two in width, 
making altogether 500 stalls. These could be occupied, 
three, or four, or half a dozen to the stall, by such animals 
as were hitherto unprovided for — provided, however, that 
any remain on hand! The stalls would^accommodate at 
least 2,000, which, added to the previous number, would 
make in all 12,320 animals, and 6,050 species, or kinds. 



AKRANGEMENT OF ANIMALS IN THE ARK. 38 Y 

According to Newton, the ark must have been from 
fifty-five to sixty feet in perpendicular height or depth. 
The lower story must therefore have been at least twenty 
feet in height ; and the second and third, nearly, if not 
exactly the same,. Now, if this were so, there is no 
reason why cages for the feathered animals should not 
have been arranged over all the stalls here mentioned. 
Allowing a height of eleven feet for all the stalls of the 
animals, there would remain nine feet for the bird cages ; 
and arranging these on the basis of the different ranges 
of stalls, at least twenty thousand birds, and ten thousand 
species, could be comfortably provided for. This, added 
to the other, makes 32,320 animals, and 16,050 species I 
And yet, not more than one-fortieth part of the tonnage 
capacity of the ark is thus far occupied. 

The second story, being a mere copy of the first, needs 
no amplification here. The only animals that yet remain 
unprovided for, are those of turtles, snakes, lizards, toads, 
crocodiles, and the numerous species of flies, insects, spi- 
ders, scorpions, etc. All these, however, it will be readily 
admitted, could be accommodated in a single row of stalls. 
The marine and semi-aqueous species, of course, could 
shift for themselves — including many fowls, insects, and 
mammals. As not more than half of the actual capacities 
of the ark could have been occupied by the animals, it 
may be inferred that a large space was devoted to forage 
and provisions. But when we bear in mind that all, or 
most of the animals were young — mere cubs, calves, or 
lambs — I am unable to perceive the necessity for such an 
inference. The fact is, comparatively little space was re- 
quired for such storage. Few of the animals required 
even straw to lie down upon ; — for if the stalls had a 
gradual slope into the alleys, covered gutters would con- 
vey away all the natural excrements, and they could be 
cleaned as circumstances required. A little hay would be 



388 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

relished by some, grains by others, and flesh by all the 
carniyora. A large number, however, would be fed on 
milk, to supply which there must have been a special 
stock of adult cows and goats, as well as flesh for the 
strictly carnivorous. But one half of the area of the sec- 
ond story would suffice to store all the forage necessary 
for a year's voyage. The whole of the third story, and 
the roofed deck, would thus remain comparatively unoc- 
cupied ; but we can well suppose that, in addition to 
animals, Noah had also supplied himself with a stock of 
plants, vegetaMes, seeds, and fruits, so that, on his return 
to the impoverished land, he would not long remain with- 
out the customary necessaries of life. We have thus 
shown, that, according to the data furnished by the Doubt- 
ers themselves, there was room for more than thirty thou- 
sand animals, representing nearly half that number of 
species ; and that, if there were more, more could easily 
have been accommodated ! Zoologists may therefore go 
on, and ransack with impunity every corner of the earth, 
to multiply species ; but they will find the ark prepared 
to receive all they can bring forward, and still have 
abundant room to spare ! I will merely add, in leaving 
this branch of my subject, that whatever may be thought 
of the space allotted to the animals by my arrangement 
of the ark, it far exceeds that usually devoted to the 
animals in traveling menageries, where, as before re- 
marked, the Royal Bengal Tigers and African Lions are 
often confined in cages barely large enough for them to 
turn round. Moreover, all my arrangements are predi- 
cated on the basis of Aristotle and Baleigh, and if any 
mistake has been made, it is theirs, not mine. But, if any 
exist, it will be found to militate against the doubters of 
the ark's capacities, and not against those who regard it 
as sufficiently large to have subserved all the purposes 
contemplated by the Creator. 



SUBTERRANEAN STREAMS. 5S9 

We now come to consider the flood itself. The animals, 
whatever their number and variety may have been, were 
safely disposed in the ark, and it only remains for us to 
institute some inquiries touching the flood. Here, again, 
the Bible is explicit : '' In the six hundredth year of Noah's 
life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the 
month, the same day were all the fountains of the great 
deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 
And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty 
nights. And the waters increased, and bare up the ark, 
and it was lifted up above the earth, ^nd the waters 
prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high 
hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. 
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail, and the 
mountains were covered. And the waters prevailed upon 
the earth one hundred and fifty days." 

" The fountains of the great deep broken up" — what is 
meant by this ? What are the fountains of the great 
deep ? They are, in part, the springs of water which 
gush out from the surface of the ground, and underneath 
rivers, lakes, and oceans. The crust of the earth is per- 
meated by water. Almost everywhere, by digging a hole 
ten, fifty, or a hundred or more feet deep, according to the 
position of the strata, water will gush forth — the deeper 
the excavation, the greater the supply. Now, in general, 
the water thus obtained is accumulated in the fissures of 
the earth from surface drainage. This is evident from the 
fact that, during seasons of drought, many springs are 
temporarily exhausted. But there are also lakes and 
great rivers of water in the bowels of the earth, not di- 
rectly due to surface drainage. In France, in boring for 
water, the auger suddenly fell a foot or more, when a 
stream of water rushed forth — thus proving that a reser- 
voir had been struck. In another instance, after boring 
375 feet, fine sand, vegetable matter, and shells of species 



390 THE SEVENTH DAY— THE SABBATH. 

living in the vicinity were brought up, indicating that 
they must have descended by some passage in the bottom 
of a river. In Germany, fish were thus brought up, al- 
though no river existed within many miles. Salt springs, 
although they are thought to emanate from deposits of 
rock salt lying at a great depth in the earth, may, in some 
cases, be due to subterranean drainage from the ocean. 
The borings for salt, in nearly all the Western States, are 
scarcely ever less than eight hundred, and many of them 
are more than fifteen hundred feet. The Artesian wells of 
Paris are over^ighteen hundred, and that of Charleston, 
S. C, (if we are not mistaken,) is nearly two thousand 
feet deep. That recently sunk by Mr. Lauer, of Reading, 
is nearly two thousand feet deep. So, also, another, in 
Columbus, Ohio. These deep borings very often pass 
through the upper formation or system of rocks, into the 
adjacent ones below, where the water is usually found in 
anti-synclinal basins ; and as it cannot, therefore, be de- 
rived from the surface immediately overlying, it follows 
that it must emanate from a distance, which may be great 
or small ; and, in the case of salt springs, may proceed 
from the ocean, or distant salt lakes, or salt deposits. In 
the State of Michigan, subterranean lakes have been found 
but a short distance from the surface ; and, in one in- 
stance, in excavating the track of a railway in that State, 
a large and deep basin was struck, into which the surface 
earth disappeared so rapidly, that many of the laborers 
barely escaped with their lives. The waters were beauti 
fully clear, and contained myriads of fish of the finest 
flavor. Such lakes, however, generally occur at a great 
depth, and their waters are only forced up through the 
fissures of the rocks by powerful hydrostatic pressure. 
Artesian wells are borings made through rock, or a 
stratum of clay, into a more porous or cavernous forma- 
tion beneath, which, in consequence of such porosity, be- 



GLACIERS OP MOUNTAINS. 391 

comes a storehouse of water. Thus, a valley between two 
hills or mountains, maj be covered by clay, through 
which no water will drain. But the slopes of the moun- 
tain may be sandy, in which case the water will soak 
through the sand, and accumulate in the valley, under the 
layer of clay. Now, by boring through the clay, a col- 
umn of water will rise to the surface, and sometimes shoot 
up in a fountain, to the height of ten or fifty feet. These 
are called Artesian wells, because the experiment of sink- 
ing them was first made in the district of Artois, in France. 
Limestone formations are almost invariably of a stratified 
and cavernous structure, and consequently often contain 
immense stores of water. These reservoirs are generally 
supplied by surface drainage, and then tapped by springs 
in the valleys and plains, which form the sources of rivu- 
lets, creeks, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Where a broad 
surface of water is presented to the sun, evaporation takes 
place. The heat of the air absorbs it from the ground, as 
well as from lakes and oceans. The heat of summer, in 
a few hours, will lick up all the water of a shallow pond, 
and bestow it upon vegetation ; or it will gather it into 
the atmosphere in clouds of vapor, and again spread it 
over the earth in genial showers. 

On the summits of all the higher mountains, as those of 
the Alps, the Himalaya, and the Rocky mountains, the 
rain congeals, and with the snow, forms stratum upon 
stratum of sleet and ice. The mass constantly increases 
until its ten thousand peaks are buried in the clouds — 
forming, as it were, gigantic stalagmites or steeples, 
piercing the regions of eternal cold. On the summit of 
the Alps, the ice and snow thus accumulated, forms 
plateaux two or three hundred square miles in extent, and 
varying in thickness from one to three hundred feet. The 
table-lands are traversed by rivers of melted snow, which 
are filled with fragments of ice, cut loose from the adjacent 



392 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

cones, pyramids, and canoned shores. During the summer, 
especially after long-continued rains, the rivers and lakes 
are swollen, and immense bodies of ice are undermined by 
the water, and borne slowly down the mountain slope. 
Before they proceed far, however, winter again sets in, and 
the isolated masses are united by new congelations. 
While constant additions are thus made to the aggregate 
bulk, the descending movement, although very slow, and 
rarely exceeding from one to five hundred feet per year, 
still continues. The summer always relaxes the icy grasp 
of winter, for a short season, and the canon streams cut 
immense incisions into the mountains of snow, or under- 
mine the huge cliffs. As they thus become detached, 
the downward movement proceeds, when finally, reach- 
ing the precipices of the mountain, the enormous masses 
slide down with irresistible force. These are termed 
avalanches. They invariably carry with them immense 
rocks, trees, gravel, and earth ; and entire villages, and 
hundreds of people have been destroyed by their unlooked- 
for visitations. The narrow valleys of the Alps teem 
with little villages, all of which are more or less exposed 
to the contingencies of avalanches, which, although very 
slow in their downward movement until they reach the 
fatal precipices, are yet certain, if sufficient time be 
allowed. The glaciers of the Alps vary in their altitude 
— some being as low down as 3,000 foet, while others 
ascend to a height of from 1,000 to 8,000 feet. Some of 
them are fifteen miles long, and are so permanent in their 
features and characteristics, that they are known by 
specific names. When these glaciers or avalanches de- 
scend the mountain, they sometimes stretch across the 
narrow valleys, and form dams which arrest the water. 
The water is thus backed, until finally a sluice is cut, and 
the whole gradually is swept away. If, however, the 
avalanche descends into the ocean, it becomes an iceberg, 



ICEBERGS IN THE ATLANTIC. 393 

and it is then floated about, until the ice gradually melting, 
the rocks, trees, gravel, and mud, are deposited in irre- 
gular heaps or lines over the bottom of the sea. Such 
deposits, when they occur in heaps, are styled moraines. 

Great as are the effects wrought by these high moun- 
tain avalanches and glaciers, they are mere trifles com- 
pared with the stupendous icebergs annually sent into 
the temperate zones, from the Artie regions. The whole 
Artie circles are covered with snow and ice, and the atmos- 
phere presents a perpetual winter. 

Every one who has crossed the Atlantic ocean, must 
have more or less experience and knowledge of icebergs. 
Yery often the reminiscences connected with them are of 
an unpleasant nature — for many a noble vessel has gone 
down in the fathomless deep by too close a contact with 
them. A passenger on the steamer Persia, writing to a 
journal in Mobile, details some of the incidents of such a 
voyage, and the allusion to icebergs being apropos, I will 
here introduce an extract : 

"Then came fog, fog for three days and nights, until one thousand 
miles were passed — Cape Race and the banks of Newfoundland. Here 
the air began to be very cold, requiring thick winter clothing, and indica- 
ting that we were approaching the region of icebergs. Sure enough, on 
the afternoon of the 9th, while we were at dinner, the cry of "icebergs" 
was heard through the cabin (a convenient excuse for many to leave the 
table, as the sea was a little rough) ! We rushed on deck, and there, far 
away, was a dim mass of white substance, which we could not distinguish 
from land; then another came, very large and grand, about ten miles dis- 
tant — a grand mountain of ice, like a huge, bold promontory, jutting out 
into the wild waste of waters, while the waves dashed in foam and spray 
•upon its cold and barren sides. Then the sunlight flashed over its glassy 
heights with a dazzling brilliance, reflecting all the colors of the rainbow, 
from peak to peak, until the mass passed into a shadow, and then appeared 
like a great mountain of snow, of the purest whiteness, untouched by that 
which defiles and darkens. To one we passed within half a mile, and 
could with great distinctness see its hugo sides cut into ridges and 
gullies, by the streams^ that were trickling down to the ocean ; on the 
Bummit there seemed the form of a house ; indeed, there was any thing 



394 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

there that the imagination could picture out of such fantastic shapes and 
strange appearances. The cold gushes of wind that swept the ice-fielda 
came over our vessel like wintry blasts, producing the most intense cold. 
These are the strange visitors from the unknown regions of the in- 
hospitable North that break away from the icy fetters of their frozen 
continents, drifting down by current and breeze, seeking the warm 
gushes of the treacherous sunlight of a milder clime, which deceives their 
confidence, and before the huge ice-monsters become conscious of this 
snare into which they have incontinently drifted, the warm embraces of 
an enemy are around them, melting away their proud significance into 
the common level of the waters." 

When icebergs contain imbedded rocks, and are thrust 
against the edges of rocky promontories and cliffs, they 
polish the surface, and leave long parallel grooves and 
scratches. Many of the rocks of previous formations, 
occupying the sides and summits of mountains, having 
been submerged during the flood, have their peaks 
rounded and their surface smoothed for many miles by 
the masses of ice and debris which floated over them. 

" The recent polishing and striation of limestone by coast-ice, carrying 
boulders even as far south as the coast of Denmark, has been observed by 
Dr. Forchbaumer, and helps us to conceive how large icebergs, running 
aground on the bed of the sea, may produce similar furrows on a grander 
scale. An account was given, so long ago as 1822, by Scoresby, of ice- 
bergs seen by him drifting along in latitudes 69° and 70° north, which 
rose above the surface from one to two hundred feet, and measured from 
a few yards to a mile in circumference. Many of them were loaded with 
beds of earth and rock, of such thickness that the weight was conjectured 
to be from fifty to one hundred thousand tons.* A similar transportation 
of rocks is known to be in progress in the Southern Hemisphere, where 
boulders included in the ice are far more frequent than in the north. One 
of these icebergs was encountered in 1839, in mid-ocean, in the antarctio 
regions, many hundred miles from any known laud, sailing northwards, 
with a large erratic block firmly frozen into it. In order to understand 
in what manner long and straight grooves may be cut by such agency, 
we must remember that these floating islands of ice have a singular steadi- 
ness of motion, in consequence of the larger portion of their bulk being 

* Lyell's Elements of Geology, p. 122. 



DR. KANE IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 395 

sunk deep under water, so that they are not perceptibly moved by the 
winds and waves, even in the strongest gales. Maury had supposed that 
the magnitude commonly attributed to icebergs by unscientific navi- 
gators was exaggerated; but now it appears that the popular estimate of 
their dimensions has rather fallen within than beyond the truth. Many 
of them, carefully measured by the ofl5cers of the French Exploring Ex- 
pedition of the Astrolabe, were between one hundred and two hundred 
and twenty-five feet high above water, and from ttoo to Jive miles in length. 
Captain D'Urville ascertained one of them, which he saw floating in the 
Southern Ocean, to be thirteen miles long and one hundred feet high, 
with perfectly vertical walls. The submerged portions of such islands 
must, according to the weight of ice relatively to sea-water, be from six 
to eight times more considerable than the part which is visible, so that 
the mechanical power they exert, when fairly set in motion, must be 
prodigious." 

Persons living in the temperate zones can entertain but 
a feeble idea of the extent and power of the glacial influ- 
ences of the polar regions. Much information has recently 
been obtained from the explorations of the late Dr. Kane, 
who, for three years, sailed through towering icebergs, or 
was hemmed in during the winter by frozen seas, and 
glacial precipices, and lands whose dust was drifted snow, 
and whose rocks were massive ribs of ice. His little crew 
were sometimes reduced to the last stages of human en- 
durance, suffering, starvation, and disease, in a climate 
where the breath of man's nostrils would congeal, and his 
blood stagnate into torpidity. Even in the month of 
August, they were frozen in for the ensuing winter while 
attempting to reach the settlements of Greenland, after 
having delineated nearly one thousand miles of coast- 
line. The amount of travel to effect this exploration 
exceeded two thousand miles, and was performed solely 
on foot and by dog-teams. 

*' On one occasion, during this coast-exploration," says Doctor Kane, 
"we were made aware of a remarkable feature of our travel.* We were 

* Arctic Explorations, vol. i. p. 92. 



396 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

on a table or shelf of ice, which clung to the base of the rocks overlooking 
the sea, but itself overhung by steep and lofty cliffs. Pure and beautiful 
as this icy highway was, huge angular blocks, some many tons in weight, 
were scattered over its surface; and long tongues of worn-down rock oc- 
casionally issued from the sides of the cliffs, and extended across our 
course. The cliffs measured one thousand and ten feet to the crest of the 
plateau above them. They were," adds Dr. K., in a note, " they were of 
tabular magnesian limestone, with interlaid and inferior sandstone. 
Their height, measured to the crest of the plateau, was nine hundred and 
fifty feet— a fair mean of the profile of the coast. The height of the talus 
of debris, where it united with the face of the cliff, was five hundred and 
ninety feet, and its angle of inclination between 38° and 45°." "We 
pushed forward on this ice-table shelf as rapidly as the obstacles would 
permit, though embarrassed a good deal by the frequent water-courses, 
which created large gorges in our path, winding occasionally, and gener- 
ally steep-sided. We had to pass our sledge carefully down such inter- 
ruptions, and bear it upon our shoulders, wading, of course, through water 
of an exceedingly low temperature." . . . "On the 1st of September, 
still following the ice-belt, we found that we were entering the recesses 
of another bay but little smaller than that in which we had left our brig. 
The limestone walls ceased to overhang us; we reached a low fiord, and a 
glacier blocked our way across it. A succession of terraces, rising with 
symmetrical regularity, lost themselves in long parallel lines in the dist- 
ance. They were of limestone shingle, and wet with the percolation of 
the melted ice of the glacier. Where the last of these terraced faces 
abutted upon the sea, it blended with the ice-foot, so as to make a frozen 
compound of rock and ice. Here, lying in a pasty silt, I found the skele- 
ton of a musk ox. The head was united to the atlas ; but the bones of the 
spine were separated about two inches apart, and conveyed the idea of a 
displacement produced rather by the sliding of the bed beneath, than by 
a force from without. The paste, frozen so as to resemble limestone 
rock, had filled the costal cavity, and the ribs were beautifully polished. 
It was to the eye an imbedded fossil, ready for the museum of the col- 
lector. ... I am minute in detailing these appearances, for they 
connect themselves in my mind with the fossils of the Eischoltz cliffs and 
the Siberian alluvions. I was startled at the facility with which the 
silicious limestone, under the alternate energies of frost and thato, had been 
incorporated with the organic remains. It had already begun to alter the 
structure of the hones, aud in several instances the vertebrce icere entirely 
enveloped in travertin. The table-lands and ravines round about this 
coast abound in such remains. Their numbers, and the manner in which 
they are scattered, imply that the animals made their migrations ia 
droves, as is the case with the reindeer now. Within the area of a few 



DR. KANE IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 39 1 

acres, we found seven skeletons and numerous skulls ; these all occupied 
the snow-streams or gullies that led to a gorge opening on the ice-belt, 
and might thus be gathered in time to one spot, by the simple action of 
the water-shed." In a note, Dr. K. adds, "A reindeer skull found in the 
same gorge was completely fossilised. That the snow waters around 
Rensselaer Harbor held large quantities of carbonate of lime in solution, 
was proved not only by the tufaceous deposit which incrusted the masses, 
but by actual tests. The broken down magnesian limestones of the upper 
plateau readily explain this." . . On the 4th of September, in detail- 
ing the incidents of the day or two previous, the Doctor again remarks 
in a note: " This halt was under the lee of a large boulder of greenstone^ 
measuring fourteen feet in its long diameter. It had the rude blocking 
out of a cube, but was rounded at the edges. The country for fourteen 
miles around was of the low-bottom series; the nearest greenstone must 
have been ma-ny miles remote. Boulders of syenite were numerous ; their 
line of deposit nearly due north and south." 

"Our progress on the 5th was arrested by another bay much larger 
than any we had seen since entering Smith's Straits. It was a noble 
sheet of water, perfectly open, and thus in strange contrast to the ice out- 
side. The cause of this, at the time, inexplicable phenomenon, was found 
in a roaring and tumultuous river, which, issuing from a fiord at theinner 
sweep of the bay, rolled with the violence of a snow-torrent over a broken 
bed of rocks. This river, the largest probably yet known in North 
Greenland, was about three quarters of a mile wide at its mouth, and 
admitted the tides for about three miles; when its bed rapidly ascended, 
and could be traced by the configuration of the hills as far as a large 
inner fiord. I called it Mary Minturn river, after the sister of Mr. Henry 
Grinnell. Its course was afterward pursued to an interior glacier, from 
the base of which it was found to issue in numerous streams, that united 
in a single trunk about forty miles from its mouth. . . I shall never 
forget the sight, when, after a hard day's walk, I looked out from an al- 
titude of eleven hundred feet upon an expanse extending beyond the 
eightieth parallel of latitude. Far off on my left was the western shore 
of the Sound, losing itself in distance toward the north. To my right, a 
rolling primary' country led on to a low, dusky, wall-like ridge, which I 
afterward recognized as the great Glacier of Humboldt ; and still beyond 
this, reaching northward from the north-north%ast, was the land which 
now bears the name of Washington. . . The great area between was 
a solid sea of ice. Close along its shore, almost looking down upon it 
from the crest of our lofty station, we could see the long lines of hom- 
mocks dividing the floes like the trenches of a beleaguered city. Fur- 
ther out, a stream of icebergs, increasing in number as they receded, 
showed an almost impenetrable barrier; since I could not doubt that 



398 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

among their recesses the ice was so crushed as to be impassable by the 
sledge." In a note, in explanation of the previous remark that Hum" 
boldt Glacier connected the two continents of America and Greenland, 
the Doctor observes that all "Arctic America, north of Dolphin and 
Union Straits, is broken up into large insular masses, and may be con- 
sidered as a vast archipelago." " Grinnell land," he says, "cannot be re- 
garded as part of the continent of America; while Washington land 
seems, in physical character and position, to be a sort of middle 
ground." 

In the second volume of Dr. Kane's Arctic Explorations, 
page 146, some interesting phenomena touching glaciers, 
are described. 

"The bend of this glacier, (that named after Humboldt,) is a few de- 
grees to the west of north. We followed its face afterward, edging in for 
the Greenland coast, about the rocky archipelago which I have named 
after the Advance. From one of these rugged islets, the nearest to the 
glacier which could be approached with any thing like safety, I could 
see another island, larger and closer in shore, already half covered by the 
encroaching face of the glacier, and great masses of ice still detaching 
themselves, and splintering as they fell upon that portion which protruded. 
Eepose was not the characteristic of this seemingly solid mass; every 
feature indicated activity, energy, movement. The surface seemed to 
follow that of the basis-country over which it flowed. It was undulating 
about the horizon, but as it descended toward the sea, it represented a 
broken plain, with a general inclination of some nine degrees, still dimin- 
ishing toward the foreground. Crevasses, in the distance mere wrinkles, 
expanded as they came nearer, and were crossed almost at right angles 
by long continuous lines of fracture, parallel with the face of the glacier. 
These lines, too, scarcely traceable in the far distance, widened as they 
approached the sea, until they formed a gigantic stairway. It seemed as 
though the ice had lost its support below, and that the mass was let down 
from above in a series of steps. Such an action, owing to the heat derived 
from the soil, the excessive sui-face drainage, and the constant abrasion 
of the sea, must in reality^ take place. . . . The indication of a great pro- 
pelling agency seemed to be just commencing at the time I was observing 
it. These split-off lines of ice Avere evidently in motion, pressed on by 
those behind, but still widening their fissures, as if the impelling action 
was more and more energetic nearer the water, till at last they floated 
away in the form of ice-bergs. Long files of these detached masses could 
be traced slowly sailing off into the distance, their separation marked by 
dark parallel shadows — broad and spacious avenues near the eye, but 



THE HUMBOLDT QLAOIER. 399 

narrowed in the perspective to mere lines. A more impressive illustra- 
tion of the forces of Nature can hardly be conceived. 

Regarded upon a large scale, I am satisfied that the iceberg is not dis- 
engaged by debacle, as I once supposed. So far from falling into the sea, 
broken by its weight from the parent glacier, xirisesfrom the sea. The 
process is at once gradual and comparatively quiet. The idea of icebergs 
being discharged, so universal among systematic writers, and so recently 
admitted by myself, seems to me now at variance with the regulated and 
progressive actions of Nature. Developed by such a process, the thou- 
bands of bergs which throng these seas, should keep the air and water in 
perpetual commotion, one fearful succession of explosive detonations and 
propagated waves. But it is only the lesser masses falling into deep 
waters which could justify the popular opinion. The enormous manses of 
the great glacier are jiropelled, ktep by step, and year hy year, until, reach' 
ing water capable of sujiportiug them, they are floated off to be lost in the 
temperature of other regions. 

" The crevasses bore the marks of dii-ect fracture, and the more gradual 
action of surface-drainage. The extensive water-shed between their con- 
verging planes, gave to the icy surface most of the hydrographic features 
of a river system. The ice-born rivers which divided them were margined 
occasionally with spires of discolored ice, and generally lost themselves in 
the central areas of the glacier before reaching its foreground. . . . The 
height of this ice-wall, at the nearest point, was about three hundred feet, 
measured from the water's edge ; and the unbroken right line of its dimin- 
ishing perspective showed that this might be regarded as its constant 
measurement. It seemed, in fact, a great icy table-land, abutting with a 
clean precipice against the sea."* 

We have made these extracts from the work of the 
lamented Kane, our indomitable countryman, for the pur- 
pose of impressing upon the reader the extraordinary ex- 
tent and nature of the Glacial mountains, seas, and deserts 
of the North and South poles. No conception of this can 
well be formed by persons who have paid no previous 
attention to the subject — they are not prepared to realize 
the fact that, for thousands and thousands of miles, no- 
thing but these stupendous glaciers, drifted snows, and ice- 
covered seas meet the eye of the explorer, and the navi- 
gator. The glaciers of the Alps and of other mountains 

* Arctic Explorations, vol. li. 
26 



400 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

that rear their peaks into the upper atmosphere, although 
extensive, when considered as belonging to latitude^ 
strictly temperate, are yet the merest nothings when 
compared with those of the Arctic zones. 

Now, it is a singular fact, that after volcanic action had 
comparatively exhausted itself in the middle belts of the 
earth, it was transferred to the poles. Whether this was 
due to the fact that, after the deposition of the great con- 
tinents, the polar circles became the weakest parts of the 
earth's crust, or whether they still retained their bituminous 
inflammability, after other districts had parted with it, is 
a question which it would be useless for me to discuss 
here. But it is nevertheless true, that toward the close 
of the Tertiary period and the dawn of the present geologi- 
cal epoch, both the polar regions of the globe simul- 
taneously became the theatres of the most violent and 
terrific volcanic action, the effects of which we propose 
briefly to consider. 

Dr. Kane, in the extracts we have given, has sufficiently 
indicated the primitive geological character of the arctic 
country. Whenever he found boulders or erratic blocks, 
they proved to be greenstone, porphyry, syenite, or amyg- 
daloid. We have before remarked, in the earlier part of 
this work, the primary origin of the entire northern por- 
tions of the continents of America and Asia. Most of 
these regions remained undisturbed, covered only with 
accumulating snows and ice, during all the subsequent 
geological periods ; but after the Tertiary, the whole 
northwest coast of Greenland, and the northeast border of 
Baffin's Bay, became the theatre of the most violent 
volcanic eruptions. An uninterrupted chain of extinct 
volcanoes stretch all around, and over the entire frozen 
country explored by our great geographer — a country 
which presented to his feet the very antipodes of previous 
heat and present cold. Nor was the volcanic action con- 



THE ERA OF VOLCANIC ACTION. 401 

fined to that particular region. Nearly every portion of 
the earth, except America, came more or less under its 
influence ; but, as we observed before, the Arctic Zones 
were in this instance the chief centres of its operations. 
Along the Asiatic coast of the Pacific, including all the 
islands outside of the sea of Okhotsk, that of Japan, and 
of China, many thousands of small islands were elevated 
above the ocean, most of which were wholly unknown 
until recently, and every day reveals new ones. Thou- 
sands of islands, and groups of islands, some of them by 
no means inconsiderable in size, have been ^us redeemed 
from the waste of waters since the Tertiary period, or 
since the creation of man. The American coast is scarcely 
less prolific, but they are all confined to that Of the Pacific. 
The extensive chain of mountains known as the Andes, 
the Cordilleras, and the Pocky mountains, extending 
through South America to Oregon, are for the most part 
volcanic ; and although they were in action during 
previous geological eras, they again poured forth their 
streams of lava after the Tertiary, and at irregular inter- 
vals of time, continue to do so even now. The greater 
portion of ]^^orth America — in fact the whole of it, with 
the exception of the extreme northern parts, and a narrow 
belt along the Atlantic slope, already mentioned, was un- 
affected ; but nearly the entire surface of Europe was 
simultaneously convulsed and disruptured from one end 
of it to the other. Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, 
Italy, Austria, and all the northern coast of the Mediter- 
ranean, into Asia Minor, and thence east to Persia, was 
an almost uninterrupted theatre of volcanic fury. The 
Ural mountains, and those of the Altai ranges in 
Central Asia, were affected to some extent, while nearly 
the whole of India, and the southeastern slopes of tha 
Indian Ocean, shared in a common and almost universal 
disturbance. This was emphatically the era of volcanic 



402 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

action, both on the land and beneath the seas ; and Moses 
says truly, that " the fountains of the great deep were 
broken up. " With the single exception of North America, 
the volcanoes were distributed all over the world ; and in 
many portions entire regions were engulfed in their 
simultaneous action. While thousands of islands were 
thus rising from the ocean, what was the effect in the 
polar circles — among the mountains, deserts, and seas of 
ice ? Yolcanic eruptions in these regions would, of 
course, produce peculiar and extraordinary effects. They 
would not only crack and split the rocks, but inject upward 
the usual streams of red-hot liquid lava. This, coming in 
contact with the exterior ice and snow, would hurl the 
loftiest glacial mountains from their base, and send up 
columns of boiling water into the freezing air. The very 
opposites of elemental qualities would thus meet in angry 
combat. Glaciers, that reared their hoary beards into the 
clouds, would be precipitated into the adjacent seas — 
while the ordinary water courses would be swollen into 
mighty and resistless torrents — carrying with them the 
red-hot cinders and boulders thown in their way. Where 
the heat was greatest, the ice and snow would mingle in 
their original fluidity ; but in those points less affected, 
w.ountains of glaciers would slide from the heated rocks, 
and be borne off into the seas. The mighty volume of 
waters, now bearing thousands of these massive icebergs, 
loaded with earth and debris, are now borne off by the 
currents of the ocean, which sweep around the continents 
of Asia, Africa, and America. Those of the North Pole 
move toward the south ; while those of the South Pole 
move toward the north. The waters rush on, and as they 
proceed, encounter thousands of terrific volcanoes, burst- 
ing up from the oceans — "the fountains of the great 
deep." The waters still increase — the gigantic-rock- 
freighted icebergs still multiply The atmosphere of the 



THE FLOOD OVERFLOWING THE EARTH. 403 

temperate zones becomes suddenly refrigerated, while that 
of the poles is, for a time, moderated. The dense moisture 
of the icebergs envelops the world in fogs and vapor. 
The clouds of thick sulphurous mist, rise higher and 
higher, while the icebergs still pour in with every suc- 
ceeding wave. The moisture is rarified in universal 
auroras ; electricity is generated ; heaven's artillery pre- 
pares to enter the elemental strife, and detonates its 
threatening thunder. Anon the ''windows of heaven are 
opened," and then descends rain in ceaseless torrents. 
Still the waters rise higher and higher — still the long 
islands of icebergs, laden with rocks, and trees, and mud, 
pour in from the north and the south — still the waters 
are enveloped in dense vapor — while in terrific and over- 
whelming showers — 

"The impetuous rain descends, 
Nor from his patrimonial heaven alone 
Is Jove content to pour his vengeance down ; 
But from his brother of the seas he craves 
To help him with auxiliary waves. 
Then with his mace the monarch struck the ground, — 
With inward trembling earth received the wound, 
And rising streams a ready passage found. 
Now seas and earth were in confusion lost, — 
A world of waters, and without a coast." 

The crust of the earth now quakes and shudders, while 
bleeding red-hot scoriae, from ten thousand gaping pores. 
The expansive force of the exploding gases — the continu- 
ous upward pressure of the volcanic currents, draws the 
water secreted in the bowels of the earth to the surface ; 
all the reservoirs are broken up, and the strata become dis- 
jointed, twisted, and melted. The fusion of the cavernous 
and disjointed rocks, occasions their subsequent contrac- 
tion and solidification, while the waters themselves having 
suddenly passed from icy coldness to that of boiling heat, 



404 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

expand to nearly twice their usual volume. The disrup- 
turing of the earth, and of the floor of the sea, thus 
liberating the boiling water and liquid lava of the volcanoes, 
added immeasurably to the extent of the flood, while the 
subsequent subsidence and solidification of the interior 
crust of the earth, caused the whole surface of the earth to 
he overflowed ! The " fountains of the great deep are 
broken up" indeed, and water, in its most powerful, ex- 
cited, and irresistible form, again sweeps over the land, 
and asserts its dominion in the air I The mountains, none 
of which had yet attained their full-grown height (the 
Alps, the Himalaya, the Altai, the Urals, Andes, Alle- 
ghanies — all were growing in altitude with the varying 
movements that originally raised them up), were now 
covered by the triumphant waves. Neptune, enthroned 
in clouds of rain, with his brother Jove, reigned supreme 
over the sea, earth, and air ! 

The people of the Eastern and Middle States are all 
familiar with the action of ice-freshets upon their rivers — 
such as the Ohio, the Potomac, the Susquehanna, the 
Penobscot, Connecticut, etc. The sources of these rivers 
are in the mountains, which, during the winter, accumu- 
late deposits of snow. In the spring, when the sun sends 
forth his rays to waken nature from her torpor, these 
snows are melted. The water, pouring into the main 
river from a thousand swollen rivulets, produces a sudden 
enlargement. The ice that covered the streams during 
the winter is also suddenly broken up by the influx of 
waters, and then hurried down the agitated stream. 
Where the river contracts between high banks or hills, 
the ice gorges or wedges itself across the channel. For 
a time, the ice and water are both arrested, and then flow 
back, overleaping the shores, and forming a succession of 
steps and terraces. When the river has accumulated suf- 
ficient water to break through or override the narrow 



FLOODS IN RIVERS AND OCEANS. 405 

obstruction, the whole mass again moves forward, and 
bears along with it trees, rocks, fences, and sometimes 
stables, houses, and bridges. These freshets occur in 
nearly every river on the globe. " The effusion of only a 
part of the ices of the Cordilleras in Peru," says St. Pierre, 
in his Studies of Nature, " is sufficient to produce an an- 
nual overflow of the Amazon, of the Orinoco, and of sev- 
eral other great rivers of the New World, and to inundate 
a great portion of Brazil, of Guiana, and of the Terra 
Firma of America ; that the melting of part of the snows 
on the Mountains of the Moon, in Africa, occasions every 
year the inundations of Senegal, contributes to those of 
the Nile, and overflows vast tracts of country in Guinea, 
and the whole of Lower Egypt ; and that similar effects 
are annually reproduced in a considerable part of Southern 
Asia, in the kingdoms of Bengal, of Siam, of Pegu, and 
of Cochin- China, and in the districts watered by the 
Tigris, the Euphrates, and many other rivers of Asia, which 
have their sources in chains of mountains perpetually 
covered with ice, namely, Taurus and Iraaus."* It may 
be assumed that what the occasional extraordinary over- 
flows of these rivers are to the particular regions which 
they drain, are the still rarer overflows of oceans in respect 
to the comtinenis which they drain. The parallel between 
them may be wide, but it is nevertheless correct ; for while 
the floods of rivers are more frequent, those of oceans, we 
are well assured by geology, have been no less regular 
and periodical. 

But what evidence have we of the submergence of the 
mountains ? We have, firnt, the evidence of the Bible, 
which is reliable beyond all other evidence — beyond the 
evidence even of our eyes and senses ; because all these 
organs may and do deceive us, but the Bible never. Sec- 

■* Studies of Mature, by EtTuardin t-l. Pierre. 



406 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

ondly, we have the evidence of Nature, also a reliable 
witness ; and thirdly, the traditions of man himself, in all 
parts of the earth. All these declare the universality of 
the flood, and that all the mountains were alike over- 
flowed. 

The Bible, however, does not aver that all the moun- 
tains overflowed bj the deluge were as high as they are 
now; nor, aside from the flood, have we any reason to 
suppose that they were. The Himalaya range, we have 
reason to believe, did not exist as mountains before the 
Tertiary ; neither did the Alps. The Alleghanies rose 
after the Carboniferous era ; but their rise was also 
gradual : and so, with but a few exceptions, was that of 
nearly all the lofty mountains of the earth. The earth 
itself was not made in a day ; and it would be the height 
of nonsense to claim that the mountains, which form its 
ribbed axes, were. 

But granting, for the sake of argument, that all the moun- 
tains before the flood were as high as they are now — what 
is gained ? All the mountains are or were covered with 
diluvion — most of them with erratic boulders, and the 
moraines of icebergs. How are we to explain this phe- 
nomenon ? Geologists, with universal accord, assume 
that the mountains have been sunk under the level of the 
sea, and then again elevated. In some instances, indeed, 
this supposed subsidence and elevation has occurred re- 
peatedly, at long geological intervals — for in no other way 
can the alternation oi marine, land, and fresh-water strata 
be accounted for. In truth, most geologists assign greater 
stability to the seas than to terra fir ma. " While we 
have no evidence," says High Miller, " that the sea-level 
has changed during at least the ages of the Tertiary for- 
mations, and absolutely know that it could not have varied 
more than a few yards, or at most a few fathoms, we have 
direct evidence that during that time great mountain 



SUBMERGENCE OF CONTINENTS. 407 

chains, many thousand feet in height, such as the Alps, 
have arisen from the bottom of the ocean, and that great 
continents have sunk beneath it and disappeared. The 
hirger parts of Northern Europe and America have been 
covered by the sea since our present group of shells began 
to exist. In 1819, a wide expanse of country in the 
delta of the Indus, containing fully two thousand square 
miles of flat meadow, was converted, by a sudden depres- 
sion accompanied by an earthquake, into an inland sea. 
About three years after this event, a tract of country be- 
tween the Andes and the Pacific, more than equal to all 
Great Britain in area, was elevated from two to seven feet 
over its former level, and rocks laid bare in the sea, which 
the pilots and fishermen of the coast had never before 



seen 



??* 



The sea appears to be receding from the shores of 
Sweden at the rate of four vertical feet per century ; while 
on the coasts of Greenland (as also remarked by Dr. 
Kane) it appears to be advancing at a rate somewhat 
more considerable. But while Miller and all cotemporary 
geologists thus assume the repeated subsidence and sub- 
mergence of elevated plateaux, mountain ranges, and vast 
continents, none of them attribute any operating or aux- 
iliary effects to the flood. The sea, they maintain, is 
stationary, and, with the exception of its tidal variations, 
always maintains its level. Both geologists and Christian- 
Infidels (if I may coin a severe term) therefore unite in 
elaborating very ingenious but very flimsy pretexts to 
utterly destroy the idea of a universal deluge, and with 
it all the co-ordinate ideas of a primary central creation 
of man and animals, and several other leading doctrinal 
pillars of Revelation. They would thus pull down the 
whole fabric of Christian faith under the pretext of " har- 

* Hugh Miller, Testimony of the Rocks. 



408 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH, 

monizing^^ Kevelation with Geology I The foundation of 
their argument against the universality of the deluge 
amounts to this : that there was an insufficiency of water. 
They all tell us that the whole earth originated from the 
deep, and that continents were afterward repeatedly sub- 
merged ; but, in the ease of this particular flood, there 
could not have been sufficient water to cover the high 
mountains ! This, to be plain, is nothing but the argu- 
ment of fools ! Besides which, it betrays the most con- 
summate hypocrisy. 

In his account of Canada and the tJnited States, in 
1845, Sir Charles Lyell announced the conclusion to which 
he had then arrived, '' that to explain the position of the 
erratics, and the polished surfaces of rocks, and their 
striae and flutings, we must assume first a gradual sub- 
mergence of the land in North America, after it had ac- 
quired its present outline of hill and valley, cliff and 
ravine, and then its re-emergence from the ocean. When 
the land was slowly sinking, the sea which bordered it 
was covered with islands of floating ice, coming from the 
north, which, as they grounded on the coast and on shoals, 
pushed along such loose materials of sand and pebbles as 
lay strewed over the bottom. By this force all angular 
and projecting points were broken off, and fragments of 
hard stone, frozen into the lower surface of the ice, had 
power to scoop out grooves in the subjacent solid rock. 
The sloping beach, as well as the floor of the ocean, might 
be polished and scored by this machinery ; but no flood 
of water, however violent, or however great the quantity 
of detritus or size of the rocky fragments swept along by 
it, could produce such long, perfectly straight and parallel 
furrows, as are everywhere visible in the Niagara dis- 
trict, and generally in the region north of the 40th parallel 
of latitude." 

The principles of continental subsidence here presented, 



UNIVERSALITY OF THE FLOOD PROVED. 409 

the distinguished writer also applies to Europe, and 
argues the case at considerable length. But, it will be 
observed, he could not restrain a passing kick at the No- 
achian flood — "no fiood of water, however great the 
quantity of its detritus, could produce such long and par- 
allel furrows in the subjacent rock." ''This," he says, 
*' was the work of icebergs ;" — and who, /or one moment, 
disputes it^ Does the Bible say or intimate, that there 
could have been no icebergs ? Still less does the Bible 
intimate that there was no sinking down of continents. 
Water was wanted ; a universal deluge was decreed ; and 
it was therefore necessary to " break up the fountains of 
the great deep," not only to obtain icebergs, but water in 
every form in which it existed on the earth or in the 
air. 

The subsidence of entire continents is thus admitted, 
not only by one, but by all geologists, properly so called. 
Many of them, as I said before, demand the submergence 
of continents and of particular districts, again and again, 
so as to account for the alternation of strata. But the 
submergence in this case was the most recent — the very 
last that occurred on the earth. We know that it occurred 
during or toward the close of the Tertiary, and we know 
that it has not occurred during the present historic era of 
man. The highest mountain ranges on the globe, as the 
Himalaya, the Alps, and the Andes, are strewn with 
Tertiary remains, and are scratched with Diluvial ice- 
bergs and glaciers, while their slopes and valleys are filled 
with boulders and moraines. We can thus trace the flood, 
or the ''breaking up of the fountains of the deep," to the 
age of Noah. All co-ordinate circumstances lead directly 
to that particular lime ; and when thus hemmed in, 
on all sides, there is no longer any other alternative 
but to believe that it occurred exactly as the Bible describes 
it. There is no other alternative. 



410 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

How, then, are we to account for this last submergence 
of continents ? The geologists universally demand their 
subsidence and submergence, but thej do not volunteer to 
enlighten us as to the modus operandi. Lyell presumes 
that it was "gradual ;" all his theories, indeed, are on a 
graduated scale. I have already intimated the cause to 
which I refer it, namely, the renewal of volcanic action, 
simultaneously, in nearly every portion of the globe. 
Volcanic eruptions, such as have already been described, 
would break up the " fountains of the deep," and this was 
the preliminary commencement of the flood that ensued. 
Expelling the water from its subterraneous caverns, and 
consolidating the strata in a general fusion and contrac- 
tion, would have the effect of lowering the surface of the 
earth, and especially of the higher mountains. We must 
constantly bear in mind that, while the rocky material 
omposing the crust of the earth is from ten to fifty or a 
hundred miles in thickness, the whole mass is extremely 
porous, and like a sponge, becomes the receptacle of 
immense reservoirs of water, as already described. We 
find caverns near the surface, like those of the Mammoth 
Cave of Kentucky, or Weyer's, or Madison's in Virginia, 
extending from ten to fifty miles in length. There are 
many thousands such on the earth, as yet unexplored. 
It is only when they occur near the surface that we ob- 
tain any knowledge of them ; but we know, from the 
phenomena of mineral and thermal springs, that many 
others of a similar character exist at great depths in the 
earth — far below the system of rocks prevailing near th^ 
surface. The effect of volcanic action is to expel the 
water jt)f such caverns and fissures, compress and solidify 
the strata, and absorb their gases. At the same time, 
volcanoes form the nucleus of all mountains, and throw 
up islands in the midst of the ocean. Mountains are, in 
fact; nothing but protuberances on the crust of the earth, 



ABSENCE OP FOSSILS IN THE DILUVIUM. 411 

and in extent, bear the same relation to it that a mere 
cutaneous pimple or boil bears to a man's body. When 
the blood becomes stagnant and corrupt, the system en- 
deavors to expel the foul humors through the pores of the 
skin. This engenders fever or heat ; the body is covered 
with eruptions, expelling putrid matter ; but after such 
eruptions, the cuticle again resumes its natural position. 
It is thus with volcanic mountains. They are protuber- 
ances, emitting gaseous matter from a distempered earth, 
— upon the discharge of which they relapse, or the crust 
subsides, until new gaseous secretions have accumulated. 
The natural springs of the earth may be compared to the 
pores of man's skin — since their obvious office is to dis- 
charge the humors of the interior ; and whenever these 
become inefficient or inadequate, eruptions are certain to 
follow, and the fluid vessels of the earth are proportion- 
ally depleted. Thus whole continents are lowered, and 
again elevated by expansion ; and this, we have every 
reason to infer, was the condition of the earth during the 
Noachian deluge. 

But, say the doubters : if continents were submerged, 
during the era of man, the diluvium should contain his re- 
mains and those of his associate animals ; whereas, there 
is a very evident scarcity or absence of fossils, of every 
description, in that formation. This, however, instead of 
being an objection, is only a confirmation of the truth of 
a previous remark of mine, viz., that the land animals 
outside of the original circle of the Adamite creation, 
were extremely few, but that all which were outside, and 
had no specific representatives in the central creation, 
necessarily became utterly extinct after the deluge. The 
universality of the flood is not only indicated in this fact, 
but it also effectually disproves the theory of the plurality 
of creative centres, of which some writers claim from three 
to six for man, ten to fifteen for animals, and from twenty 



412 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

to thirty for vegetation I If the fossils are scarce or. 
totally absent, (as they generally are,) in the diluvial 
strata, and confined mainly to species extinct, what be- 
comes of the great bug bear of Geology, as to the antedi- 
luvian fauna having extended all over the earth ? If it 
really extended over all the continents, where are its re- 
mains to he found '^ If man inhabited America before 
the flood, let the geologists show us his fossil remains, or 
traces of his work. If the cotemporary animals of man, 
such as were necessary to his sustenance, as the sheep, 
cattle, fowls, horses, camels, dogs, etc., — if these inhabited 
America before that event, be kind enough to let us see 
their fossil bones. 1 am aware that, in South Carolina, 
a pretended discovery of such bones has recently been 
made ; but it will require something more than isolated 
and scattered teeth to demonstrate that they really be- 
longed to the domestic animals of man, and that they 
lived here anterior to the Adamite creation. Their re- 
mains, if genuine, are found in deposits, and under geo- 
logical circumstances too closely related to the present, 
to raise them to the dignity of a position from which to 
contradict the order of physical cosmogony and the revela- 
tions of the Creator. There is a large class of "sensation" 
geologists, who are ever on the qui vive for something 
new and startling. Their little pamphlets, printed at their 
own expense, but circulated under the ostensible auspices 
of learned Scientific Academies, are distributed with pro- 
fuse liberality, and are almost invariably directed against 
the common target — Moses and the order of divine crea- 
tion. If the Bible had not been an inspired work, it 
would have been buried in contempt and oblivion many 
centuries ago ; but fortunately, all the assaults of the 
devil, and the insidious pamphlets of his Scientific coadju- 
tors, only excite the spirit of investigation, which iavari- 
aUy discloses its solemn and benignant truths like the 



GEOLOGICAL ABSURDITIES. 413 

effulgent beams of the sun, peering tlirougli the dark and 
flimsy mists of the horizon. ^ 

The extinct species of animals belonging to the diluvial, 
are well known. They are of a character distinct and sep- 
arate from most of those now living, although their bones 
sometimes occur side by side. The gigantic Mastodon, 
the Castoroides Ohioensis, the Myladon, Capabara, Meg- 
alonyx, and others, are strewn over the diluvial plains of 
the South and West, and sufficiently attest the destructive 
effects of the deluge. Lyell, however, having found the 
bones of the Mastodon in fluviatile beds in New York, 
containing shells of the genera Melania, Lymnea, Planor- 
bis, Cyclas, Unio, etc., all of recent and existing species, 
goes on to shdW that the Straits of Niagara cut through 
these shell-deposits, and that, therefore, the Mastodon 
must be of cotemporary age with the shells, and that all 
are more ancient than the Falls, the erosion or retrogres- 
sion of which he estimates at 36,000 years. All this is 
very astute — very ingenious ; but extremely absurd. 
Has it never occurred to the distinguished geologist, when 
contemplating the varied and magnificent phenomena of 
the Falls, upon which he dwells, in all his books, with so 
much care and seeming pleasure, that the narrow, deep, 
perpendicular chasm which affords a grudging outlet to 
the river, has been repeatedly choked up with the ice 
pouring down from the cold region of the great lakes 
which it drains ? When thus choked up, the surrounding 
country would be overflowed, and the lake of Erie would 
expand greatly beyond its ordinary extent. During these 
repeated cataclysms, the sand and clay in which the 
shells are found were deposited, and the river, in point of 
fact, never cut through them at all — its narrow channel 
having been previously cut through the Silurian lime and 
shale. The surface is alluvial, derived from the lakes in the 
form of sediment, and scattered over an extensive area by 



Hi THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

means of small icebergs and muddy slush, in which the 
shells themselves ^^ere transported and deposited. The 
Mastodons, and other extinct animals of the diluvian era, 
wandering over the sandy plains, laid down to die, and 
their bones were afterward covered up by new accumu- 
lations of comminuted mud and sand. Who has not ob- 
served the sand-banks deposited along the sloping shores 
of rivers after a recent flood or ice-freshet ? Sometimes 
they are of great extent, and in level districts invade the 
adjacent country for many miles. The Mississippi often 
pours its waters, to the depth of eight or ten feet, over the 
adjacent prairies, not unfrequently twenty or thirty miles 
from the main channel. The sediment thus deposited is 
invariably strewn with the characteristic t Jftacea that in- 
habit the river or its numerous sources. Now, if an old 
horse should lie down to die on the prairies thus covered 
with shells and sediment, and his bones afterward be 
covered over by new accessions of fluviatile silt, no one 
except geologists of the Lyell school, would have the 
hardihood to assert that the horse was of the same age as 
the channel of the Mississippi ! 

The scarcity of animal species, therefore, in the diluvial 
sands of the flood, proves, if it proves any thing, that there 
was but one original centre of creation, from which but a 
few types had wandered, all of which became extinct im- 
mediately afterward, or were reproduced by the progenitors 
left behind in the ark. Man, and all his works, were con- 
fined to their originally limited geographical sphere — the 
exact location of which it is now impossible to determine. 
It seems, however, to have been located somewhere 
between the Red Sea, the Caspian, the Black Sea, and 
the Mediterranean. Some suppose it to have been further 
southeast, between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, in 
Syria or Arabia ; while others, again, remove it still 
further east, into India. The greater portion of these 



THE ORIGINAL SEAT OF MAN. 415 

countries is a Tertiary and modern formation — ^having 
been but recently redeemed from the seas and lakes that 
drain it. Much of it is sandy desert, or alluvial silt, 
poured from its great rivers, and whatever remains of the 
antediluvial era were deposited over the surface, have 
been obliterated by subsequent races, whose bones and 
monuments form of themselves the most attractive objects 
of antiquarian research. In such a region, forming one 
uninterrupted and exhaustless museum of historical trea- 
sure, it would be impossible to identify the relics of ages 
so nearly joined together; and hence the obscurity which 
must forever surround the remains of the Adamite race. 
The present age, with all the appliances which highly de- 
veloped and inquiring mental capacities could bring 
to bear, has yet found sufficient material upon which to 
exercise its antiquarian skill, in the buried ruins of Egypt, 
in its catacombs, pyramids, palaces, cities, and works of 
art and internal improvement. When this field shall have 
been exhausted, another still more ancient, and perhaps 
equally interesting, may be exhumed from the arid deserts 
that once formed the estuaries of the Mediterranean, and 
the Black, and the Caspian Seas. 

It may, however, be worth while here to observe, that 
the hope of ever finding the remains of the antediluvian 
race, aside from the difficulties already suggested, are 
rendered still more remote from another cause. Before 
the flood, the race of man was necessarily limited in number, 
as well as in geographical range. But sixteen centuries 
had elapsed from the creation of Adam — all of which, 
judging from those mentioned in the Bible attained an 
extraordinary age. Consequently there could not have 
been many distinct generations, nor could any of them 
have reared" works of art of an enduring and imposing 
character. Their lives were pastoral, and massive build- 
ings and monuments were unnecessary. But few and 
27 



416 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

limited as the race was in individuals and in works, it i8 
probable that the whole was swept into the sea. If, 
indeed, the deluge had been stationary and permanent, 
man's remains might be looked for in the alluvial silt 
covering his original habitat ; but it came on suddenly, 
and then receded, like the ebbing of a tide. The bodies, 
obeying the same law which exists now, under similar 
circumstances, would float off with the tide, and would 
finally lodge in the bottom of the adjacent seas, or perhaps 
be borne to great distances in the ocean. Decomposition 
would ensue with rapidity — for it is a great mistake to 
suppose, as St. Pierre has shown, that because the waters 
of the ocean are salt, they are therefore preservative of ani- 
mal matter. Sea-^^ 'ter is saline, but it is not a pickle. 
If a bottle be filled in a tropical climate, decomposition 
will soon occur, when it becomes nauseous and putrid. 
The very saltness of the sea is supposed to proceed from 
the decomposition of animal and vegetable matter, pouring 
into it from all quarters of the earth. The ocean is a 
common sewer or cess-pool, into which all the filth of the 
earth is emptied, and from which, by the movement of 
its waves, salt is distilled. It is properly a lixivial, and 
can, therefore, readily decompose any organic substance 
introduced into it. If the Adamite race had been wafted 
into such waters, it is plain that all traces of it would 
soon disappear, and be forever lost to the curious specu- 
lations of modern paleontologists and comparative anato- 
mists. 

Before leaving this branch of the subject, I shall notice 
one or two additional points suggested by the anti- 
Noachians. "Of the creatures that live on vegetables,'^ 
says Hugh Miller, "many are restricted in their food to 
single plants, which are themselves restricted to limited 
localities, and remote regions of the globe. Though these 
were estimated in 1842, to consist of no fower than five 



HUGH MILLER ON THE DELUGE. 417 

hundred and fifty thousand species, they might yet be 
accommodated in a comparatively limited space. But 
how extraordinary an amount of miracle would it not re- 
quire to bring them all together into any one centre, or to 
preserve them there ! Many of them, like the myriopoda 
and the thysanura, have no wings, and but feeble loco- 
motive powers ; many of them, such as the ephemera, and 
the male ants, live after they have got their wings only a 
few hours, or at most a few days ; and there are myriads 
of them that can live upon but single plants that grow in 
very limited botanic centres. Even supposing them all 
brought into the ark by miracle as eggs, what multitudes 
of them would not, without the exertion of further miracle, 
require to be sent back to their proper habitats, as wing- 
less grubs, or as insects restricted by nature to a few days 
of life 1 Or supposing the eggs all left in their several 
localities to lie under water for a twelvemonth, amid 
mud and debris — though certain of the hardier kinds 
might survive such treatment, by miracle alone could the 
preponderating majority of the class be preserved. And 
be it remembered, that the expedient of having recourse 
to supposititious miracle in order to get over a difficulty 
insurmountable on every natural principle, is not of the 
nature of argument, but simply an evidence of the want 
of it. Argument is at an end when supposititious miracle 
is introduced."* 

The closing sentence of this paragraph is somewhat 
anomalous. First, we are told, ''that by miracle alone 
could the preponderating majority of certain classes of the 
five hundred and fifty thousand species of insects be pre- 
served in the ark;" and then we are reminded that, if we 
establish their preservation by calling in the aid of miracle, 
or miraculous agency, (the same tiling,) " there is an end 

♦ Hugh Miller's Testimony of the Rocks. 



418 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

to argument. It seems to me that there is an end to 
argument in the very terms of the quoted sentence. This 
whole discussion involves miracles. Mr. Miller himself, 
in all his books, deals in nothing but miracles ; for all 
God's works are such. He never consummated a greater 
miracle than when he created these very insects. " Man 
the wonderful" scarcely displays nicer or more miraculous 
functions than the butterfly, the bee, the ant, or the spider. 
The earth and the heavens are merely stupendous 
miracles ; and how could the Bible, if it be a faithful reve- 
lation of God's acts and commands, be otherwise ? It is 
this very feature, so perfectly consistent with all that we 
see or know of the Creator, that gives the stamp of 
authenticity to the sacred volume. Mr. Miller, and all the 
geologists of his school, profess to believe in that book ; 
and yet we find them constantly assailing its integrity, 
because, forsooth J it daals in miracles! If its statements 
were based upon truths such as man would dictate — such 
as writers like Miller himself would expound — a new and 
revised edition would have to appear annually — future 
generations would have to erase the errors and absurdities 
of the present, and the present those of the past. But 
the Bible, based upon the solid truths of God's eternal 
laws, is the authentic record of miracles — miracles con- 
nected together as a chain, any single link of which 
proving false, would precipitate the whole Christian fabric 
to oblivion. But God's 

" Creation is no less 
Than a capacious res"ervoir of means, 
Formed for his use, and ready at his will." 

Bnt all this is perhaps foreign to the main question. 
We are to determine, without resorting to " supposititious 
miracle," how five hundred and fifty thousand species of 
minute animals, such as flies, spiders, beetles, locusts, etc., 



INSECTS IN THE ARK. 419 

"were provided for in the ark. First, we have no reason to 
believe that there are, or ever were, five hundred and fifty 
thousand species — the largest and .most recent estimate 
that we have seen not exceeding four hundred thousand. 
This number, however, is sufficient, and would be equally 
as formidable as the first, were it not susceptible of very 
considerable reductions. More than one-half of them are 
aquatic, spawning in mud and water, and therefore require 
no more attention than fishes, or the cetacean mammalia. 
This brings us down to 200,000 species, of which number 
more than one half are burrowers in the earth, and have 
the faculty of lying dormant during seasons of cold, no 
matter how long continued, as worms of every descrip- 
tion, grubs, ants, and thousands of other minute and 
nameless creatures, which it would be out of the question 
here to describe. The whole earth, however, teems with 
them, and a moment's reflection on the part of my reader 
will recall myriads of different species to his recollection. 
Of the remaining 100,000 species, nearly all of them are 
natives or frequenters of the forest, the orchard, or the 
garden. They secrete themselves or their invisible larvse 
(visible, for the most part, only by the microscope) in the 
bark of trees, or bore into the solid trunks or roots, and in 
the partings of decayed stumps and rotten logs. 'No one 
who has not had some practical experience of forest life, 
can form the remotest conception of the almost unlimited 
extent and variety of the creatures which live and generate 
upon the trees. They are inseparable from vegetation, and 
are perhaps essential to terminate the life of the giants of 
the forest ; for there can be no doubt but that their rapid 
increase ultimately attacks the vitality of trees, and hastens 
their death. This is familiarly illustrated in the case of 
fruit and ornamental trees — the ravages of insects, in a 
single season, destroying not merely single individuals, but 
entire gardens and parks. 



420 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

But we have made no provision for that numerous class 
of insects which infest animals, as fleas, lice, flies, gnats, 
and various other parasitic bugs and vermin. This class, 
also embracing many varieties, is equally inseparable from 
animal life, no matter under what circumstances it may 
exist. But besides these, there is still another class, by 
no means less varied or numerous, which are to be found 
in the crevices of furniture, houses, ships, barns, granaries, 
and among stores of every description — embracing spiders 
of all kinds, stylops, moths, ants, wasps, bed-bugs, roaches, 
and the whole family of Myriopoda cited by Mr. Miller, 
All these, I repeat, are inseparable from the substances in 
and around which they are found. Maggots exist in 
putrid animal matter — in cheese, in vegetables, in earths 
and soils. They cannot be eradicated, for their larvae, 
like that of common flies, is generally invisible. Besides 
these, there are many species of locusts, caterpillars, 
beetles, cochineals, dragon-flies, etc., etc., the larvae of 
which, like that of all the others, is diffused in the secret 
pores of vegetable, animal, and earthy substances, and 
generally lie dormant until wakened into life by heat or 
moisture. 

The simple truth is, that the great majority of these 
minute creatures, in their larval condition, exist primarily 
in the juices of animals and vegetables, precisely as the 
microscope shows thousands of distinct creatures inhabit- 
ing a single drop of water. I have already remarked, in 
the earlier pages of this book, the microscopic revelations 
of Ehrenberg and others, (among whom I may include 
my neighbor, Dr. Wythes, of Port Carbon, who has writ- 
ten a valuable book on the subject, and is perhaps one of 
the most scientific entomologists of the present age,) by 
which it appears that a greater number of inhabitants 
occupy a cubic inch of water than there are human beings 
on the face of the globe ! Water is water, whether it be 



EXTRAORDINARY PECULIARITIES OF INSECTS. 421 

found in the body of animals, or in trees, plants, and 
fruits ; and it has been ascertained that no matter how 
carefully it may be distilled, animalcules still exist in it in 
one form or another. The author of the Vestiges of 
Creation refers, at considerable length, to experiments 
made some years ago, in England, by Messrs. Weeks and 
Crosse, by which insects of the species acari were elabo- 
rated from solutions of ferrocyanate of potassium, obtained 
by boiling salt in distilled water, and then subjecting the 
solution, under closed vessels, in an atmosphere of pure 
oxygen, to long-continued electric currents. These ex- 
periments are cited to prove the soundness of the devel- 
opment hypothesis, which is based upon the assumption 
that animal life can and has originated otherwise than ex 
ovo. Instead, however, of proving any such nonsense, 
they prove incontestably what has already been men- 
tioned, and what Ehrenberg, Wythes, and others have 
demonstrated, that a drop of water is as much a globe to 
microscopic animalcules as terra firma is to man ; that 
while water may be changed, mixed, distilled, or heated, 
the animals or their larvae still remain instinct with life ; 
and that they perpetuate their respective epecies by 
spawn so infinitesimally minute, that the highest powers 
of the microscope cannot detect them^ but which are 
proven to exist in the ovo of the very insects thus generated 
by the chemical experiments of 3Iessrs. Weeks and Crosse! 
But it is an extraordinary fact, that many of these animal- 
cules, as well as certain species of lice which infest vege- 
tation, are not only gifted with fecundating properties to 
perpetuate themselves, but transmit such properties to 
their female descendants for many succeeding generations. 
The minute spawn thus generated has, within its indi- 
viduals, the spawn for other generations ; and so they may 
continue to multiply, under the most diverse circumstances 
that the mind can conceive, without incurring the re- 



422 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

motest liability of the ultimate extinction of their species. 
The celebrated Reaumer has proved, that one single 
female may become the parent, in five generations, of 
more than five thousand nine hundred and four millions 
of descendants! The higher species of insects are less 
prolific, but their nature is better understood. A single 
flv will generate, in a period of three or four months, a 
brood of from seven to eight hundred thousand flies ; the 
wasp will deposit thirty thousand eggs, the queen-bee 
from forty to fifty thousand, and the moth of the silk- 
worm from five to six hundred. It is the wonderful 
fecundity of these animals, and their adaptation to the most 
obscure and imperceptible retreats and crevices, and the 
ability of their infinitely minute spawn to resist all the ad- 
verse circumstances of earth, air, and water, that render 
the extinction of their species a physical impossibility, 
so long as earth, air, water, vegetation, and animals 
remain I 

"Why has man not a microscopic eye ? 
For this plain reason : man is not a/y 

• 

And for this very plain reason, it is impossible for man 
to fathom the deep and wonderful mysteries of the great 
Creator. His works are miracles — laj'ge or small, ani- 
mate or inanimate, gaseous, liquid, or solid; — all are 
wrought with a mechanism at once skillful, mysterious, 
and incomprehensible. 

I am astonished that a writer of the reputed intelligence 
and scientific acumen of the late Mr. Miller, should have 
advanced a proposition so perfectly destitute of signifi- 
cance, and reflecting so seriously upon his judgment as a 
Naturalist. He might as well have undertaken to sepa- 
rate animals or vegetables from the diseases to which they 
are liable, as to separate them from the parasitic insects 



INSECTS IN THE ARK. 423 

and vermin which thej absorb in water, nourish in their 
vital juices, and yield up in their putrefying bodies ! Yet 
we find him exclaiming, with a dogmatic and triumphant 
air, as if his philosophic vagaries had dealt a stunning 
blow to the blunt and unaffected statements of the Bible : 
" But how extraordinary an amount of miracle would it 
not have required to bring them together into any one 
centre, or to preserve them there !" On the contrary, the 
amount of miracle (if it is estimable by bulk) necessary 
to bring them together, was extremely small — for nearly 
all the animals of the Adamite creation, as we have al- 
ready shown, occupied their original centre. The insects 
dwelt and moved with animals, and fed upon the vegetable 
and other stores in the ark ; while their spawn remained 
behind in seas and rivers ; under shelving rocks, and their 
burrows in the earth, and in the pores of roots and trees ; 
in perforated stumps and decomposing rubbish, and in 
nuts, fruits, and plants. Of the four or five hundred thou- 
sand estimated species of insects and vermin, it was 
hardly probable that special attention was necessary to 
the preservation of a single species. Even the bee could 
shift for herself, locked up in the cavities of trees, amid 
her stores of manufactured sweets. But this, it may be 
objected, was in conflict with the divine decree, which 
ordered all animal life to be extinguished from the earth 
— "all flesh wherein there is life." So far as the living 
creatures themselves are concerned, the order was obeyed; 
but it could have had no application to life in embryo. 
The myriads of spawn in the earth, and in the recesses 
of vegetation, were not living animals — they required the 
nourishing care of nature for their future development, 
and would only spring into existence with the renewal of 
vegetable and animal life. But the great bulk of the 
higher class of insects swarmed td the ark with the ani- 
mals and their forage, and had their larvas secreted long 



424 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

in advance of its embarkation. But inasmuch £,s nothing 
was said of fishes and cetacea, we have a right to assume 
that insects stood in a similar relation, especially in view 
of the fact that the great bulk of them are aquatic and 
amphibious. Knowing their inseparable identity with 
vegetation and animals, the Creator was incapable of 
giving an order to his servant Noah, which it would have 
been difficult for him to carry out in any other way than 
that already suggested. The object was to annihilate 
man, and the order of mammalian animals more directly 
associated with the economy of the earth. But " myriads 
of them," continues Miller, "can hve upon but single 
plants, that grow in very limited botanic centres." If 
they can only live on certain plants, where would be the 
propriety of their removal f And does it not follow, as a 
logical sequence, that if they can only live on such plants, 
they derive their vitality from them — that the spawn 
exists in the sap of such trees or plants, while the adult 
lives as a parasite upon their exudations ? Most trees 
were not destroyed by submergence ; or, at all events, 
their roots remained, even though their trunks were de- 
tached, and scattered over the ground. No injury, there- 
fore, could result to the larv83 secreted in fheir pores or 
beneath their bark. But besides all this, water alone would 
in most cases not injuriously affect the ova or spawn of 
the great bulk of insects and vermin. Many of them are 
incubated by moisture and heat ; and the large family of 
fleas, musquitoes, and various bugs, seem to prefer such 
situations, and are often found swarming in countless 
myriads over stagnant pools or along the sea coasts, and 
in marshy swamps and meadows. ''But," he continues, 
"even supposing them all brought into the ark by miracle 
as eggs, what multitudes of them would not, without the 
exertion of further miracle, require to be sent back to 
their proper habitats as wingless grubs, or as insects re- 



SPECnFIC VEGETATION IN GEOLOGICAL ERAS. 425 

stricted bv nature to a few days of life !" It is, indeed, 
painful to notice such innuendos, because they reveal the 
melancholy truth that, under the pretext of harmonizing 
God^s law with " science,''^ the writer has no proper con- 
ception of one or the other. When men betray such con- 
summate ignorance of the ordinary economy of nature, 
and of the wonderful powers of recuperation possessed by 
its microscopic creatures, it is hardly a matter of aston- 
ishment that they should, with high-sounding words, 
shows of superficial learning, and with affected zeal and 
boldness, undertake to question the plainest decrees of the 
Creator. Although "wingless grubs" exist in cheese, 
walnuts, fruits, and animal putrefactions, and millions of 
other similar worms and crawling grubs in filth of every 
description ; yet this Naturalist is puzzled to know how 
Noah could have brought them into the ark, and then 
how he afterward distributed them over the earth ! If 
Noah himself was puzzled at any thing, it was to know 
how he could keep them out of his ark ; and if he had a 
moiety of the common sense usually allotted to human 
nature, he never gave himself the least uneasiness as to 
their subsequent geographical distribution. I may here 
remark, what has already been noticed in my observations 
on coal, that every successive stratum of the earth appears 
to be impregnated with the seeds of its own peculiar 
species of vegetation ; and on consulting the Bible, I find 
nothing to contradict such a theory, but much to confirm 
it. The coal measures, wherever they outcrop, are pro- 
lific in ferns ; and I find precisely the same varieties im- 
bedded in the rocks below ! It may be assumed that the 
Carboniferous strata are the true native soils of ferns and 
all coniferous trees ; and that wherever these soils are 
brought to the surface, and unaffected by artificial culture, 
such trees will spontaneously spring into existence, and 
constitute the prevailing vegetation. It may be objected 



426 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

that the seeds could not be preserved in the earth for such 
an indefinite and incalculable space of time, and that they 
would become fossilized with the limbs and trunks of the 
trees. But even in the hardest argillaceous rocks, and 
more especially in soft slates and shales, what we regard 
as stone is merely baked comminuted mud ; and we know 
from experience how the crevices and the interior surfaces 
of rocks clothe themselves in the most remote and loftiest 
situations, surrounded by water or by glacial mountains, 
with vegetation corresponding in every particular to the 
ancient species. And since God nowhere alludes to new 
creations of vegetation until he " planted the garden east- 
ward in Eden," and thus introduced the varied fruits and 
flowers which the world now enjoys, we have abundant 
reason to believe that every geological formation has its 
peculiar species of plants. I therefore lay it down as a 
theory, based upon my personal observation, that every 
system of rocks furnishes now, as it did in the past, its 
peculiar plants, affected only by changes of climate ; and 
it is in consequence of this fact that we have the unlimited 
diversity of species and genera which now distiuguishes 
the earth's crust. And should further investigation cor- 
roborate this hypothesis, the varied centres of vegetable 
creations claimed by nearly all botanists, like many other 
similar propositions that conflict with the Bible, will be 
forever nailed to the counter. After the creation of man, 
when the strata of the earth were thrown together upon 
the surface of the earth, in consequence of previous dis- 
turbance, God foresaw the intermixture of the seeds thus 
primarily imbedded, and hence decreed man to the task 
of cultivating the ground and subduing it. This intermix- 
ture of seeds must forever continue, so long as water runs, 
winds blow, or birds and animals migrate. It is a law — 
a miracle of nature, decreed from the beginning. 

Although I have already dwelt on this branch of my 



IDENTITY OF EXTINCT AND LIVING ANIMALS. 42T 

subject at greater length than I intended, another propo- 
Bition in Mr. Miller's theory of the deluge, and the one 
upon which he evidently most relies, common courtes}^ — 
ad hominem argumentum — requires me to notice. '' The 
great continents," says Cuvier, " contain species peculiar 
to each ; insomuch, that, whenever large countries of this 
description have been discovered, which their situation 
had kept isolated from the rest of the world, the class of 
quadrupeds which they contained has been found ex- 
tremely different from any that had existed elsewhere. 
Thus, when the Spaniards first penetrated into South 
America, they did not find a single species of quadruped 
the same as any of Europe, Asia, or Africa. The puma, 
the jaguar, the tapir, the cabai, the lama, the vicuna, the 
sloths, the armadillos, the opossums, and the whole tribe 
of sapagos, were to them entirely new animals, of which 
they had no idea. Similar circumstances have recurred 
in our own time, when the coasts of New Holland and 
the adjacent islands were first explored. The various 
species of kangaroo, phascolornys, dasyurus, and perame- 
les, the flying phalangers, the ornithorhynchi, and echid- 
nas, have astonished naturalists by the strangeness of 
their conformations, which presented proportions con- 
trary to all former rules, and were incapable of being ar- 
ranged under any of the systems then in use." 

Mr. Miller quotes this paragraph of the Baron Cuvier, 
and then adds : '* And it is a most significant fact, that both 
in the two great continents and the New Zealand Islands, 
there existed, in the later geologic ages, extinct faunas 
that bore the peculiar generic characters by which their 
recent ones are still distinguished. The sloths and arma- 
dillos of South America had their gigantic predecessors 
in the enormous megatherium and mylodon, and the 
strangely- armed glyptodon ; the kangaroos and wombats 
of Australia had their extinct predecessors in a kangaroo 



428 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

nearly twice the size of the largest living species, and in 
so huge a wombat, that its bones have been mistaken for 
those of the hippopotamus ; and the ornithic inhabitants 
of New Zealand had their predecessors in the monstrous 
birds, such as the dinornis, the optornis, and the palap- 
teryx — wingless creatures like the ostrich, that stood 
from six to twelve feet in height. In these several re- 
gions, two generations of species, of the genera peculiar 
to them have existed — the recent generation by whose de- 
scendants they are still inhabited, and the extinct genera- 
tion, whose remains we find locked up in their soils and 
caves. But how are such facts reconcilable with the 
hypothesis of a universal deluge ?" 

Upon the premises thus surveyed, Mr. Miller proceeds 
to argue against the probability of these animals having 
been collected into the ark by Noah ; or, if they had been, 
by some miraculous means unknown, he considers it in- 
admissible that they should aftericard have been re- 
turned to the several islands and continents previously 
inhabited, without the exercise of still greater miracle. 
In short, he regards the whole thing as physically im- 
possible, but die novello tutto par hello. The immortal 
bard has said that ''Truth is stranger than fiction ;" to 
many persons it is not only a stranger, but it is not half 
so fascinating as fiction. If, indeed, the animals now in- 
habiting these regions were in the ark at all, it needs no 
argument to prove that they, or their progenitors, after- 
ward returned. But this is not the point; the main 
question at issue divides itself into three parts : first, 
were the extinct species (of the genera) really identical, 
and the " predecessors" of those now inhabiting those 
continents ; second, did the extinct species really live he- 
fore the flood, in the localities where their remains are 
found ; and third, if they lived hefore the flood, does it 



IDENTITY OP EXTINCT AND LIVING ANIMALS. 429 

follow, and must we therefore believe, that they were un- 
represented in the original Adamite creation ? 

" The sloths and armadillos of South America had their 
gigantic predecessors in the enormous megatherium (and 
mylodon), and the strongly-armed glyptodon." This sen- 
tence is evidently intended to pass current for more than 
its exact value. They had their " predecessors" — that is 
to say, they were preceded by animals of a similar nature. 
It implies a near relation ; because, if there were no such 
relation, the fact of the one class preceding the other 
would have no significance. We say it implies a near 
relation, but the writer has omitted to point it out. He 
says nothing of the habits or anatomical structure of any 
of them. Where, then, is the propriety of creating in- 
ferences not sustained hj facts'^ The animals may or 
may not be allied by generic features ; if they are, they 
should have been pointed out. A dog resembles a horse 
because it walks on four legs. Here we see the exact 
amount of the resemblance — its beginning and its end. 
The lion and the tiger, the bear and the cat, the panther 
and the leopard, are equally members of the feline tribe, 
the generic features of which embrace a very large num- 
ber of different species, and all of them distinct from each 
other. Now, (according to the implication of Miller's 
proposition,) if a menagerie traveling through South 
America, and including in its collection the Bengal tiger, 
the African lion, the chetah, the cat, and the leopard, the 
zoologist would be justified in asserting that the native 
puma and the jaguar, living or dead, were the "predeces- 
sors^^ of these animals — and that, in consequence of their 
visit to South America, they attained a 'nearer i^elation to 
the puma and the jaguar than that previously held when 
separated by the Pacific ocean ? In other words, accord- 
ing to Miller's premises, the fact of their meeting on com- 
mon ground is sufficient to assimilate species ! Aceor- 



430 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

dinglj, it is only necessary to remove the South American 
tapir to Africa, in order to establish its identity with the 
elephant ! But let the tapir be extinguished, and its 
bones be scattered in caves and alluvial silt, and then 
bring the elephant to South America, it will be easy to 
show, (by this kind of reasoning,) that the tapir was the 
" predecessor" of the elephant ; and, agreeably to the de- 
velopment hypothesis, (or vice versa, the degradation 
theory,) it would follow that the one was preceded by, and 
descended /ro77i the other 1 

Having already referred to and briefly described all 
these animals, it would be a useless repetition to perform 
the same task again. The armadillos bear considera- 
ble resemblance to the manis, a lizard-like ant-eater, 
though they themselves also eat roots and vegetables. 
They are distinguished as hurrowers in the ground, a 
characteristic utterly incompatible with the extinct Glyp- 
todon, in consequence of its enormous dimensions. The 
Sloth, on the contrary, lives on trees, and travels in its 
native forests, from one to the other, by means of the in- 
terlacing branches ; but unlike squirrels and other climb- 
ers, it suspends itself from the limbs of trees, and travels 
like a fly suspended from a ceiling / It is a compara- 
tively small animal, covered with long hair, and present- 
ing some remote resemblance to a baboon ! Yet this is 
the worthy descendant of the great 3Iegafherium and 
3Iylodon — animals that were fully as large as existing 
elephants and rhinoceri ! They would make a very 
beautiful figure in traveling through the forests upside 
down, suspended from the bending limbs of trees ! The 
resemblance in habit and structure of the armadillo to the 
extinct Glyptodon, is equally striking and pleasing to 
contemplate ! The bones of the Glyptodon are so enor- 
mous that they were long supposed to be those of the 
Megatherium. We can accordingly imagine how it 



EXTINCT AND LIVING ANIMALS. 431 

would burrow in the ground, and bury itself, like its 
supposed pigmy descendants, in the bowels of the earth ! 
The resemblance between the living animals and the 
extinct species is about as striking as that between the 
hog, the tapir, and the elephant. The hog has a thick 
skin ; — so has the elephant. The tapir has a proboscis ; 
— so has the elephant ; — ergo, they all belong to the same 
general family. The Glyptodon, like the existing arma- 
dillo and the manis, was covered by a scaly coat of mail, 
but in this respect they all resemble alligators or marine 
turtles as much as they do each other ! Their anatomical 
structure exhibits few features in common ; and it would 
require the highest powers of the imagination to detect the 
smallest identity between any of them, either as re- 
spects instincts, habits, or structure ! From these simple 
facts, the reader will perceive how extremely obscure are 
the inferences of comparative anatomists and zoologists 
when dealing with the scattered remains of extinct ani- 
mals ; and how perfectly unauthorized and reckless some 
writers are in predicating the most stupendous specula- 
tions upon such unsubstantial data. The classifications 
of anatomists, botanists, and geologists, we have already 
shown, are very arbitrary and diverse — based as they are, 
upon dental formula, or that of the hoof, the skin, the 
skull, or other general or specific features. But notwith- 
standing this, a certain class of writers, whenever the 
Bible is to be assailed, rear theories high as heaven — em- 
ploying no other basis than an old tooth, a jawbone, a 
fossil fern, or the tail of a fish or a serpent ! Under the 
technical flummery of science, the most monstrous absurdi- 
ties — (absurdities, in the present case, only equaled by 
the giant proportions of the extinct animals,) pass current 
in the world, and are as eagerly swallowed and believed 
in as the panaceas, sarsaparillas, and life-pills of the med- 
ical empirics ! They are all gulped down with avidity, 
28 



482 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

and the only diflPerence between them is, that while one 
disorders the body, the other corrupts the mind; — one 
spreads contagion in the blood, the other diffuses it into 
the very soul / 

But did the extinct species really live before the flood, in. 
the several localities where their fossil remains are found ? 
Miller intimates very broadly that they did, by saying 
that " their gigantic remains are locked up in their soils 
and caves." After the examples we have had of loose- 
ness and recklessness of expression, leading to erroneous 
conclusions, it is absolutely necessary to be on our guard. 
"Locked up in their soils and caves." What, "in the 
names of all the gods at once," can this mean ? Can any 
human being determine what particul-ar soils are here 
meant ; and as for caves, he may as likely contemplate 
those of the Paleozoic as the Secondary or Tertiary, and 
either of them would be equally theirs. But were they 
locked up in caves of any kind ? If so, they must have 
been enormous ones, with openings infinitely larger than 
a Pennsylvania barn-door ! But as Mr. Miller has not 
pointed out the kind of soil and caverns in which their 
fossils are locked up, we shall have to consult some other 
writers, who may have been a little more explicit. Prof. 
Richardson, in his " Introduction to Geology," Buckland, 
in his " Bridgewater Treatise," and Lyell, in his " Ele- 
ments," may throw a glimmer of light on the subject, or 
lend us a key by which to unlock these mysterious 
" caves" and " soils" of Geology. From these respectable 
writers we learn that not only the Megatherium and 
Glyptodon, but the Ghlamydotherium, Eoplophorus, 
Pachytherium, Euryodon, and Xenurus, as well as the 
Soelidotherium, and Flatyonyx, and the Coeladon, Spheno- 
don, are all " locked up," some of the smaller animals in 
the caverns, and the larger ones in the soils of South 
America, answering to the upper strata of the sub-apen- 



EXTINCT AND LIVING ANIMALS. 433 

nine group of the Mediterranean. The sub-apennine 
group is a term bestowed by Brocchi, an Italian geologist, 
who investigated the argillaceous and sandy deposits, 
replete with shells, which form a low range of hills, flank- 
ing the Apennines on both sides, fpom the plains of the 
Po to Calabria. The deposits embrace strata of different 
ages, the oldest of which are newer than the Tertiarj^ 
basins of London and Paris. The upper strata, as well 
as some intermediate, contain shells of recent species, 
both of marine and fresh-water origin. The shores of the 
Mediterranean often exhibit the ivashings and silt of rivers, 
intermixed with the debris of the sea. In South America, 
the same formation is represented along the great rivers dis- 
charging into the Atlantic and the Pacific, like the adjacent 
plains of the Mississippi, in North America. " The sevcfi 
hills of Rome are composed partly of marine tertiary strata 
of the older Pliocene period, and partly of superimposed 
volcanic tufa, on the top of which are usually cappings of 
a fluviatile and lacustrine deposit. Thus, on Mount 
Aventine, the Vatican, and the Capitol, we find beds of 
calcareous tufa with incrusted reeds, and recent terrestrial, 
shells, at the height of two hundred feet above the alluvial 
plains of the Tiber. The tusk of the mammoth has been 
procured from this formation, but the shells appear to be all 
of living species.""^ It is a singular coincidence that, be- 
fore the building of Rome, the Almighty should have 
strewn the humble but highly sculptured shells of the sea, 
and the remains of terrestrial life upon the spot since 
made famous and classical with the works of man I Be- 
neath the broad dome of St. Peter's and the massive walls 
of the Vatican, with its five hundred grand stairways, its 
spacious saloons, and wide avenues — its walls animated 
with the chef d^oeuvres of ancient art, and its niches glit- 

* Lyell's Elements of Geology. 



434 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

tering with statuary and anaglyphs of marble, and brass, 
and gold ; — beneath all this, the Creator had written his 
sermons in stones, as if to teach his vicegerent a practical 
lesson in Natural Theology. The very rock upon which 
the Church of Peter was built, is a rock full of cosmical 
witnesses — all of which can bear testimony more ancient 
than the bulls of the Popes, to the goodness, grandeur, 
power, and unbounded wisdom of the great Creator. 

Prof. Lyell, after stating that an analogy exists between 
the skeletons of the Megatherium, Megalonyx, Grlyptodon, 
Toxodon,* and other extinct forms, and the living sloth, 
armadillo, cavy, capybara, and lama of South America 
(from which stat-ement Miller undoubtedly borrowed his 
ideas, and took the liberty of enlarging very considerably 
upon them), goes on to remark : 

" That the extinct fauna of Buenos Ayres atfd Brazil was very modern, 
has been shown by its relation to deposits of marine shells, agreeing with 
those now inhabiting the Atlantic; and when in Georgia, in 1845, 1 ascer- 
tained that the Megatherium, Mylodon, Harlanus Americanus (Owen), 
Equus Curvideus, and other quadrupeds allied to the Pampean type, 
were posterior in date to marine shells helovging to forty-five recent species 
of the neighboring sea. Hoxoever modern, in a geological point of view, we 
may consider the Pleistocene epoch, it is evident that causes more general 
and powerful than the intervention of man have occasioned the disappear- 
ance of the ancient fauna from so many extensive regions. Not a few of the 
species had a wide range: the same Megatherium, for instance, extended 
from Patagonia and the river Plata, in South America, between latitudes 
31° and 39° south, to corresponding latitudes in North America, the same 
animal being also an inhabitant of the intermediate country of Brazil, where 
its fossil bones have been met with in caves [of the modern era). The extinct 
elephant, likewise of Georgia {Elephas primigenius), has been traced in a 
fossil state northward from the river Alatamaha, in latitude 33° 50' north 
to the polar regions, and then again in the Eastern Hemisphere from 
Siberia to the south of Europe. If it be objected that, notwithstanding 
the adaptation of such quadrupeds to a variety of climates and geographi- 
cal conditions, their great size exposed them to extermination by the first 

♦ LyeU's Elements of Geology, and Principles of Geology. 



THE ANTI-NOACHIANS ANSWERED. 435 

hunter tribes, we may observe that the investigations of Lund and Clausen 
in the ossiferous limestone caves of Brazil have demonstrated that these 
largo mammalia were associated with a great many smaller quadrupeds, 
some of them as diminutive as field mice, lohich have all died out togethery 
while the land shells, formerly their cotemporaries, still continue to exist in 
the same countries. As we may feel assured that these minute quadrupeds 
could never have been extirpated by man, so we may conclude that all 
species, small and great, have been annihilated one after the other, in the 
course of indefinite ages, by those changes of circumstances in the organic 
and inorganic world, which are always in progress, and are capable, in 
the course of time, of greatly modifying the physical geography, climate, 
and all other conditions on which the continuance upon the earth of any 
living being must depend." 



I have thus taken the pains to contradict the ud au- 
thorized inferences contained in the propositions of Mr. 
Miller, hy the very authority fro7)i which he seems to have 
drawn his ostensible facts to destroy the idea of the uni- 
versality of the flood ! It will be seen that not only are 
the remains of these extinct animals found in the modern 
alluvial strata, but that Prof. Lyell deems it necessary to 
dispute the theory of their extinction by man — a supposi- 
tion which is by no means groundless, as I shall soon 
demonstrate. The evidences of the flood are found in 
nearly every instance intermediate between these strata — 
that is to say, between the post-Pliocene and the more 
modern of the geologists. The fact is, that nearly all the 
extinct animals that ever breathed upon the land are em- 
braced within these very strata ; and as the boulder for- 
mation, or the deluge, occurs during this period, the fact 
is sufficient and irresistible in establishing the universality 
of its prevalence. Sir Charles Lyell wrote without an}'" 
reference to theological bearings ; but he has uncon- 
sciously accumulated an amount of evidence which tends 
powerfully and directly to the phenomena of the Noachian 
deluge, notwithstanding the perversions to which cotem- 
porary writers have diverted his facts. 



436 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

Whether man had any agency in the extinction of the 
race of giant animals which inhabited the earth in the 
more remote ages, is a question upon which we can do 
little more than speculate. One thing, however, is cer- 
tain, that the aborigines of America have traditions, 
handed down from father to son, of the existence of a race 
of quadrupedal monsters. I have in my library Jefferson's 
" Notes on Yirginia, for the use of a Foreigner of Dis- 
tinction" — being a copy of the original edition as printed 
for private circulation. I need not say that I value this 
book highly, in consequence of its direct emanation from 
one of the greatest patriots and sages that the world has 
ever produced. Jefferson, while President of the Ameri- 
can Philosophical Society, made a collection of the bones 
of the Mastodon, as found on the banks of the Ohio, and, 
conjointly with Dr. Franklin and a few others, may be 
said to have been the pioneer in planting the Natural 
Sciences in the New World. On page 69 he says, " Our 
quadrupeds have been mostly described by Linnaeus and 
Mons. de Buffon. Of these, the Mammoth, or big buffalo, 
as called by the Indians, must certainly have been the 
largest. Their tradition is, that he was carnivorous, and 
still exists in the northern parts of America. A delega- 
tion of warriors from the Delaware tribe, having visited 
the Governor of Yirginia during the present revolution, 
on matters of business, after these had been discussed and 
settled in council, the Grovernor asked them some ques- 
tions relative to their country, and among others, what 
they knew or had heard of the animals whose bones were 
found at the Salt Licks, on the Ohio. Their chief speaker 
immediately put himself into an attitude of oratory, and 
with a pomp suited to what he conceived the elevation 
of his subject, informed him that it was a tradition handed 
down from their fathers, ' That in ancient times, a herd 
of these tremendous animals came to the Big-bone Licks, 



TRADITIONS OF THE INDIANS. 43t 

and began a universal destruction of the bear, deer, elks, 
buffaloes, and other animals which had been created for 
the use of the Indians : that the Great Man above, look- 
ing down and seeing this, was so enraged that he seized 
his lightnings, descended on the earth, seated himself on 
a neighboring mountain, on a rock of which his seat and 
the print of his feet are still to be seen, and hurled his 
bolts among them, till the whole were slaughtered, except 
the big bull, who, presenting his forehead to the shafts, 
shook them off as they fell ; but missing one at length, it 
wounded him in the side ; whereupon, springing round, 
he bounded over the Ohio, over the Wabash, the Illinois, 
and final]}' over the great lakes, where he is living at this 
day.'" 

The bones of the Mastodon, thus referred to, occur in 
the same relative formation as those of the Megatherium, 
Glyptodon, and the other extinct species of South 
America. They are found scattered along the alluvial 
beds of rivers, in meadows and salt marshes, — sometimes 
covered over with sand, mud, and decayed leaves and 
mould to the depth of from three to ten and twenty feet. 
It was the opinion of Mr. Jefferson, after careful inquiry, 
that the Mastodon was still living, and inhabiting the 
northern regions of America. Several persons of intelli- 
gence, who had been taken prisoners by the Indians, and 
in their travels discovered bones of the Mastodon in re- 
mote regions of the countr}^, learned from them that the 
living animals had been seen by their ancestors, and from 
their descriptions supposed it to present a close resem- 
blance to the elephant or the hippopotamus. Mr. Jeffer- 
son also shows, with Mr. Lyell already quoted, that the 
remains of the animal have been found strewn over the 
earth very far to the nortli and west. 

That all these animals lived within the recollection of 
the aboriorines of America, is sufficientlv clear in the fact 



438 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

that human bones and specimens of human art have been 
found in cotemporary geological formations — namely, the 
post-Pliocene and alluvial. In the West Indies, in the 
Island of Guadaloupe, human skeletons have been found 
imbedded in solid limestone. The stone is extremely 
hard, and chiefly composed of comminuted shells and 
corals, of species now living in the adjacent ocean. The 
coral reefs around the island are worn down by the action 
of the waves, and the detritus thus produced is swept 
upon the shore in the form of plastic mud, which after- 
ward hardens on exposure to the atmosphere, or by a 
union with the waters of streams and rivers holding car- 
bonate of lime in solution. The skeletons, strewn over 
or washed out of the land adjacent to the rivers and the 
ocean, have been thus infiltrated with the coralline mud 
and limestone, and in process of time the whole mass be- 
came hard and solid. The skeletons, from certain pecu- 
liarities of the skull, have been pronounced to be those of 
ancient Peruvians ; and some of them have been found in 
a sitting posture, which was the usual mode of interment 
adopted by that race. With the skeletons, and around 
them, are found arrow-heads, fragments of pottery, and 
other articles of human workmanship. A limestone, with 
similar human contents, has been formed, and is still 
forming, in St. Domingo ; and Prof. Lyell says that rocks 
still more ancient, referable to the Post-pliocene, are also 
to be found in the West Indian Archipelago, as in Cuba, 
near Havana, and in other islands, in which the shells 
are identical with those now living in corresponding 
latitudes. 

The mounds so profusely scattered over the plains of 
the West, especially in the valleys of the Ohio and the 
Mississippi, bespeak a race of great antiquity, and of some 
mechanical skill, but of which the present race of Indians 
profess to be altogether ignorant. Some of these mounds, 



THE MOUNDS OF THE WEST. 439 

and the ancient fortifications near them, I have examined. 
One of the largest on the Ohio stands on a broad terrace 
of that river, twelve miles below the city of Wheeling, in 
Virginia. The borough of Moundsville derives its name 
from it. It is sixty-nine feet in height, and nine hundred 
in circumference at the base. It stands perfectly isolated, 
like a vast dome. It was overgrown with trees, one of 
which, according to the annual rings of growth, betrayed 
an age of over five hundred years. It was a white oak, 
and occupied a place on the very summit of the mound, 
which has a flat area of fifty feet in diameter. In driving 
drifts through the mound to ascertain its contents and the 
nature of the work, several chambers were found, in which 
were human bones. The necks of the skeletons were 
surrounded by many hundreds of ivory beads, and the 
wrists by copper bracelets. Sea-shells of the involute 
species were also strewn around, and were probably worn 
as ornaments. Isinglass or mica, in large plates, also oc- 
curred around and over the skeletons. Besides the bones, 
there were large deposits of what seemed to be the burned 
remains of bodies — indicating that the great bulk of those 
deposited therein had been consumed by fire before inter- 
ment. In addition to the relics in this mound, a number 
of others have been found in the neighborhood and all 
over the western country, many of them associated with 
bones and skeletons more or less decayed. The proprietor 
of the mound land found, about two miles from it, a num- 
ber of porcelain beads, in substance much resembling the 
artificial teeth of dentists. He had also an image carved 
in stone, which he found with other relics some eight miles 
distant. It is in human shape, sitting in a cramped posi- 
tion, the face and eyes iDrojecHng ujnuard. The nose is 
what is called Roman. On the crown of the head is a 
knot, in which the hair is concentrated and tied. It is 
eleven inches in height, but, if it were straight, would be 



440 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

at least double that length. The head and features evince 
no inconsiderable skill and ingenuity, and, as a work of 
art, it far surpasses any similar efforts of the modern 
Indian. 

But the most interesting object of antiquarian research, 
is a small flat stone, inscribed with alphabetic characters, 
which was disclosed on the opening of the mound. These 
characters, Mr. Schoolcraft believes, are in the ancient 
rock alphabet, of sixteen right and acute-angled single 
strokes, used by the Pelasgi, and other early Mediter- 
ranean nations, and which is the parent of the modern 
Kunic, as well as the Bardic. The existence of this 
ancient art here, could hardly be admitted otherwise than 
as an insulated fact, without some corroborative evidence 
in habits and customs, which it would be reasonable to 
look for in the existing ruins of ancient occupancy. It is 
thought some such testimony has been found. Rude 
towers of stone, commanding a view of the adjacent plain 
and river, are to be found within the distance of a few 
miles back of the mound. They were, no doubt, used for 
look-outs to descry the approaches of an enemy. The 
towers were surrounded with circular walls, all of which 
have long since fallen to the earth, leaving only the merest 
traces of the ancient fortifications. Several polished tubes 
of stone have been found in one of the lesser mounds, the 
use of Avhich is not very apparent. One of these is twelve 
inches long, one and a fourth inches wide at one end, and 
one and a half at the other. It is made of a fine, com- 
pact, lead-blue, steatite mottled, and has been constructed 
by boring, in the manner of a gun barrel. This boring is 
continued to within about three-eighths of an inch of the 
larger end, through Avhich but a small aperture is left If 
this aperture be looked through, objects at a distance 
are more clearly seen. Whether it had telescopic, or 
other powers, the degree of art evinced in its construction 



THE MOUNDS OF THE WEST. 441 

is far from rude. By inserting a wooden rod and vaJve, 
this simple siphon would be converted into a powerful 
syringe. Besides the mounds, numerous remains of 
ancient fortifications occur in various places in the West, 
especially near the city of Portsmouth, in Ohio, and on 
the upper Monongahela, in Virginia, and throughout the 
State of Illinois, They indicate a race of great antiquity, 
and of much higher cultivation than the Indians, who 
really appear to have no knowledge or traditions con- 
cerning them. 

But one of the most interesting antiquarian discoveries 
of the present age, is that of the ancient burial grounds in 
Chiriqui, in the State of New Granada, on the narrow 
isthmus between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. With 
the bones of an ancient, and perhaps unknown race, this 
discovery reveals at once an apparently very rich aurifer- 
ous and archaeological treasure. A year since, the news- 
papers teemed with accounts of the curious golden images 
and metallic anaglyphs found interred with the bodies. 
The discovery was made in the month of June, 1859, and 
is thus described : 

"A native of Bugnlita, a small town in the district of Boqneron, in the 
province of Chiriqui, in New Granada, while wandering through the forest 
in the vicinity of his cabin, encountered a tree which had been prostrated 
by a recent tempest, and underneath its upturned roots he perceived a 
small earthen jar. Upon examination, this proved to contain, wrapped 
in swathing of half-decayed clofh, divers images, of curious and fantastic 
ehape, and of so yellow and shining a metal that he at onco suspected 
them to be gold. Knowing that he was in the midst of an ancient Indian 
huaca, or burial ground, he immediately commenced an exploration of the 
little burial mounds which were on every side, suspecting that they also 
might contain treasures of a liiie character. The result was that in three 
or four days, he succeeded in exhuming no less than seventy-five pounds 
weight of these golden images. Not entirely confident as to the quality 
and value of the metal, he disclosed his discovery to his neighbors, and 
in less than a fortnight, over a thousand persons were at work, and ob- 



442 THE SB"VENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

tained over nine arrobas (or 225 lbs.) of images, most of which proved to 

be of the finest gold." 

As yet, the antiquity of these sepulchral remains is 
involved in obscurity. That they date back to a very 
early period, there can be no question ; for the present 
tribes of Central American Indians have no knowledge 
whatever of the huacas which abound throughout the 
whole country, and are alike ignorant of the art of making 
the images, or of the source from which the gold was 
obtained. 

In a history of New Granada, by Colonel Joachim 
Acosta, mention is made of a similar discovery by the 
Spaniards in the fifteenth century. This was at Zenu, in 
the province of Antiochia, in New Granada — the golden 
images being in all respects similar. After speaking ot 
the riches of the Indian burial grounds at Zenu, the his- 
torian observes : '' The cemetery of Zenu was composed 
of an indefinite number of mounds of earth, some of a 
conical form, and others more or less square. When an 
Indian died, it was the custom to dig a hole capable of 
containing his arms and jewels, which were placed in the 
left-hand side of his grave, looking toward the east; and 
around these were placed earthen vases containing chichi 
and other fermented drinks ; also Indian corn, and stones 
to pound the same ; also his wives and slaves (if he was a 
principal man), which last thoroughly intoxicated them- 
selves previously to the interment ; and then the whole 
was covered over with a species of red earth brought 
from a distance. Then the mourning commenced, which 
lasted as long as there remained any thing to drink ; while, 
in the mean time, the mourners continued to throw earth 
upon the grave ; thus it was elevated according to the 
ability of the individual or family to provide a greater or 
less quantity of liquor." Jewels of gold, in large or small 
quantities, were found in all the tombs. In some were 



ANTIQUITIES OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 44,3 

golden figures representing every species of animals, from 
man to the ant, and sometimes to the value of ten or 
twenty thousand dollars. 

Mr. E. Q. Squiers, who formerly represented the United 
States as Charge dfAffaires, in some of the Central 
American states, and who is well known for his learning 
and antiquarian researches, has written a book on the 
antiquities of that remarkable region. In a recent com- 
munication, he says that it "is a mistake to suppose that 
the occurrence of these images, in considerable numbers, 
in the Indian graves of that district, is a late discovery. 
Large quantities have been taken out, from time to time, 
for many years past ; and he was informed by the late 
Governor of the Bank of England, that several thousand 
pounds' worth were annually remitted from the Isth- 
mus, as bullion, to that establishment. Most of the 
figures which he saw at the bank were exceedingly rude, 
but there were a few among them of relatively fine design 
and good workmanship. None, however, were quite equal 
in either respect to some relics dug up during the 
construction of the Panama railway, and which were 
found about seven miles from Panama, on the left bank 
of the Rio Grande, six feet below the surface of the 
ground. Trees between two and three feet in diameter 
were growing over them. 

As to the origin and date of the golden relics of Chiri- 
qui, Mr. Squiers thinks there can be no doubt. Colum- 
bus, when he discovered Chiriqui Lagoon, in his fourth 
voyage, found all the chiefs aud important people deco- 
rated with these and similar ornaments, which, he says in 
his relation, gave him " great promise of the richness 
of the country in gold and silver." Hence he named the 
district Castilla del Oro ; and hence the coast came to be 
known as Costa Rica, or rich coast — a name still pre- 
served as that of the State of Central America adjoining 



444 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

the Istliraus. He mentions particular!}^, among the orna- 
ments worn bj the chiefs, great plates or mirrors of gold, 
suspended on their breasts, " which they would neither 
sell nor exchange." Columbus adds, that the Indians 
cast gold with some degree of skill, " but in no way equal 
to the Spaniards." He says also, that "in all the regions 
around Yeragua, the Indians inter with their chiefs, when 
they die, all the gold which they possess. " Thus it is," 
he continues, in a moralizing strain, '' that all men seek 
gold ; they barter all they can spare of their produce for 
gold ; gold is excellent ; with it they lay up wealth here ; 
and they even take it to their grave, as a comfort to their 
souls hereafter. Alas ! for the follies of men who know 
not that gold is only valuable in its use, not in its accu- 
mulation. " 

The images and anaglyphs thus far brought to light, 
amount to several thousand. In their general character 
they bear a very striking resemblance to the designs and 
figures of the ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, and Baby- 
lonian s^such as are found rudely carved in relief upon 
their obelisks, or on the alabaster slabs with which they 
paneled the apartments and broad avenues of their pal- 
aces. The fact of nearly all their artistic designs being 
based upon the animal creation, instead of the varied 
phases of the human countenance, and symbolical of hu- 
man thoughts, acts, and events, seems to imply that, like the 
Egyptians and some other nations of the remote antiquity, 
most of the animals were held in religious veneration, and 
embodied some of the functions attributed to gods — hence 
they may have served as household idols, and were buried 
with the heads of the families who possessed them. We 
thus find the body of the South American tapir mounted 
on a bell ; the snout of a shark furnished with the claws 
of a crab ; the dog represented with a gigantic head, and 
a tail terminating in another head, partly canine and 



INDIANS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 445 

partly serpentine ; the body of a crab having the arms of 
a man ; beetles with human head and arms ; vultures with 
outstretched wings, mounted on a pyramidal pedestal, 
etc. Besides these, there are unmutilated or uncombined 
figures of men, of toads, crocodiles, serpents, dogs, birds, 
etc. Judging from the specimens already found, there is 
scarcely an animal now living that has not been intro- 
duced into the curious religious mythology of this race. 
The resemblance between their works and those of the 
aborigines of North America is also peculiarly striking — 
though the latter would appear to have been inferior. 
But the accounts given by Col. Joachim Acosta, in his 
history of New Granada, of the mode of burial pursued 
by the Indians of Zenu, previous to the conquest of the 
Spaniards, would appear to be equally applicable to the 
predecessors of the present North American Indians. 
The graves, in both cases, were usually conical or pyrami- 
dal, and were large or small in proportion to the wealth, 
or the social, official, or religious standing of the deceased. 
The mound on the Ohio, must therefore have contained 
the remains of a person of the highest distinction, from its 
enormous dimensions ; and this inference derives strength 
from the circumstance that but a few bodies were discov- 
ered in it — the first, or lowest skeleton, having been sep- 
arated from the others by a considerable stratum of earth. 
It is probable that all the bodies in this mound were 
members of the same family, or held a similar official pos- 
ition in the community. Col. Acosta also mentions that 
the bodies in Zenu were surrounded by a peculiar red 
earth, brought from a distance ; and it is singular that 
large quantities of such red earth are found in the graves 
of the Ohio mounds. The beads, pottery, images, inscrip- 
tions, and other works of art accompanying the remains 
of the bodies in the mound, are of a similar character to 
those of Chiriqui ; but, instead of gold, they are fabricated 



446 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

of copper and other baser material. The ancient mining 
operations of Lake Superior were possibly prosecuted by 
these people, and furnished the supplies of that mineral, 
by which they wrought the trinkets and bracelets found 
in their graves. There can be no doubt, I think, of the 
identity of the two races ; for, in addition to a similarity 
in their habits and works, the Indians that succeeded 
them are in both cases perfectly ignorant of their prede- 
cessors, and have no knowledge of the mechanical arts 
which distinguished them. The ancient race was, in 
every point of view, the superior of the existing Indians ; 
and have left behind works that bespeak a considerable 
degree of civilization. 

The palaces and works of art discovered by Stephens 
in Central America, (especially at Pelenque, and Cazmel, 
off the coast of Yucatan,) appear to belong to a similar 
race of people, but of a still higher degree of civilization. 
Among these ruins are gigantic pyramids and figures in 
bas-relief, together with hieroglyphic inscriptions. The 
pyramids are capped with buildings, leading to the infer- 
ence that they may have been used for terrestrial or 
astronomical observations : but in this respect differ from 
those of Egypt. Mr. Stephens is of opinion that there is 
no identity between the Central American aborigines and 
the Egyptians, notwithstanding the similarity of their 
style of architecture, and especially in their sculptured 
figures. In this opinion, however, he stands alone ; as 
nearly every other traveler who has described them, as- 
signs an Egyptian origin to the race that produced them. 
As to their antiquity, no doubt is entertained on that 
point, some persons having even attributed to them an 
antediluvian origin. However this may be, there is no 
question as to the development of the race in the fine and 
useful arts ; and all the works left behind attest the Egyp- 
tian aspect of their civilization^ manners, and idiosyn^ 



DISCOVERY OP AMERICA BY THE NORTHMEN. 447 

crasies, to a greater extent than those of any other peo- 
ple, ancient or modern. 

The present race of Indians was in existence at the first 
colonization of North America. Although it was succes- 
sively explored by the French, Dutch, Spanish, and Eng- 
lish, not a trace of the previous inhabitants could be 
found. The existing Indians were everywhere masters 
of the soil, and their habits and customs of life were such, 
that they presented no identity whatever with the extinct 
race interred in the mounds. And that it was at one 
time very populous, and spread over a vast extent of 
country, is sufficiently manifest in the number and geo- 
graphical distribution of the mounds themselves, and the 
evidences of their mining operations. Their antiquity in 
North America is thus carried back beyond the fifteenth 
century, during which time the country was settled by 
missionaries, and explorers from several European gov- 
ernments ; while in South America it was, at least, far 
anterior to the period of Columbus' visit to Costa Rica, 
shortly after which it appears to have degenerated, and 
been superseded by the present Indian natives. It is 
probable that those of South America, attracted by its 
gold, silver, and precious metals, absorbed the race from 
North America, and under the stimulus of such discov- 
eries, it may have attained a somewhat higher civilization. 
This, however, is questionable ; as it may be doubted 
whether the golden anaglyphs of Chiriqui exhibit more 
skill than the beads, pottery, and other ornaments of stone 
and copper found in the western mounds. 

But many centuries before Columbus visited Souih 
America, portions of North America had been seen, and 
afterwards colonized to some extent, by 'the Northmei^, 
via Greenland and Iceland. 

"America was discovered in the year 1000, by Leif, the son of Eric the 
Red, by the northern route, and as far as 41° 30' north latitude. (ParU 
29 



448 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

of America were seen, although no landing was made, fourteen years be- 
fore, in the voyage which Bjarne Hevpelfsson undertook from Greenland 
to the southward, in 986. Leif first saw the land at the island of Nan- 
tucket, 1° south of Boston ; then in Nova Scotia, and lastly in Newfound- 
land, which was subsequently called ' Litla Kelouland,' but never * Vin- 
land.' The gulf, whieh divides Newfoundland from the mouth of the great 
river St. Lawrence, was called by the Northmen, who had settled in Ice- 
land and Greenland, Markland's Gulf.) The first, although accidental 
incitement toward this event, emanated from Norway. Toward the close 
of the ninth century, Naddod was driven by storms to Iceland, while at- 
tempting to reach the Faroe Islands, which had already been visited bj 
the Irish. The first settlement of the Northmen was made in 875, by 
Ingolf. Greenland, the eastern peninsula of a land which appears to be 
everywhere separated by the sea from America proper, was only seen, 
although it was first peopled from Iceland a hundred years later, (983.) 
The colonization of Iceland, which Naddod first called Snowland, was 
carried through Green-lan 1 in a southwestern direction to the New Conti- 
nent. Notwithstanding .nd proximity of the opposite shores of Labra- 
dor, 125 years elapsed from the first settlement of the Northmen in Ice- 
land, to Leif's great discovery of America. So small were the means 
possessed by a noble, enterprising, but not wealthy race, for furthering 
navigation in these remote and dreary regions of the earth. The littoral 
tracts of Vinland, so called by the German Tyrker, from the wild grapes 
which are found there delighted its discoverers by the fruitfulness of the 
soil and the mildness of its climate, when compared with Iceland and 
Greenland. This tract comprised the coast line between Boston and New 
York, and consequently, parts of the present States of Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, and Connecticut. This was the principal settlement of the 
Northmen. The colonists had often to contend with a very warlike 
race of Esquimaux, who then extended further to the South, under the 
name of the Skralingere. The first Bishop of Greenland, Eric Upsi, au 
Icelander, undertook, in 1121, a Christian mission to Vinland, (the name 
of this settlement at that time,) and the name of the colonized country has 
even been discovered in old national songs of the inhabitants of the 
Faroe Islands. "'*■ 

The discovery and settlement of America by the x^orth- 
men, thus carries our knowledge of it back to the year 986. 
At that time there appears to have been two distinct races 
inhabiting it, besides the Norwegians themselves. The 

* Baron Von Humboldt, quoting Caroli Christiani Rafu, Antiquitate* 
Americance, — Cosmos, vol. ii. p. 230. 



COLONIZATION OP AMERICA. 449 

Skralingers, (whom they supposed to be Esquimaux,) 
told them of another race, living still further southward^ 
beyond the Chesapeake bay. They were described as 
" white men, who clothed themselves in long white gar- 
ments, and carried before them poles to which cloths were 
attached, and called in a loud voice." This account was 
interpreted by the Christian Northmen to indicate proces- 
sions, in which banners were borne, accompanied by 
singing. 

"An opinion," says Humboldt, "has been advanced by 
some northern antiquaries that, as in the oldest Icelandic 
documents the first inhabitants of the island are called 
West Men, who had come across the sea, Iceland was not 
at first peopled directly from Europe, but from Yirginia 
and Carolina, (Great Ireland, the American White Men's 
Land,) by Irishmen who had earlier emigrated to America. 
The important work, De Mensura Orbis Terrce, composed 
by an Irish monk, Dicuil, about the year 825, and there- 
fore thirty-eight years before the Northmen acquired their 
knowledge of Iceland from Naddod, does not, however, 
confirm this opinion." Humboldt makes various other 
suggestions to show the fallacy of this opinion, — which 
apply equally to the theory of Catlin of the descent of the 
Tuscaroras from the Welsh, or of those of various other 
antiquaries who, by linguistic characters, seek to ally the 
Indians with English, French, or other European na- 
tions. 

" That the first discovery of America," adds Humboldt, 
"should not have produced the important and permanent 
results yielded by the re-discovery of the same continent 
by Columbus, was the necessary consequence of the un- 
civilized condition of the people, and the nature of the 
countries to which the early discoveries were limited. 
The Scandinavians were wholly unprepared, by previous 
scientific knowledge, for exploring the countries in which 



450 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

they settled, beyond what was absolutely necessary for 
the satisfaction of their immediate wants. Greenland and 
Iceland, which must be regarded as the Northern coun- 
tries of the new colonies (in America), were regions in 
which man had to contend with all the hardships of an 
inhospitable climate. The wonderfully organized free 
state of Iceland, nevertheless, maintained its independence 
for three centuries and a half, until civil freedom was 
annihilated, and the country became a subject of Norway. 
The flower of Icelandic literature, its historical records, 
and the collection of the Sagas and Eddas, appertain to 
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries."* 

The accounts which th,e Northmen give of the people 
called Skralingers, although represented as warlike, forbid 
the idea tliat they erected the western mounds, or that 
they dug copper, and wrought utensils and sculpture. 
The allusion to the white people south of them, is, how- 
ever, significant ; for all the relics hitherto found, betray- 
ing the least degree of civilization, are south and west of 
the Chesapeake Bay: 

It has been suggested by some antiquaries that the 
original aborigines of America were derived from Asiatic 
stock, and that they effected an easy passage from one 
continent to the other at Behring's Straits, by means of 
the ice which generally blockades the channel during 
winter. These straits, at the narrowest points, are not 
over forty miles in width. If a passage was effected in 
vessels, it is equally probable that they may have crossed 
further south, from the coast of Japan, or from the Ku- 
bile Islands to those of the Aleutian, which stretch several 
hundred miles into the ocean from the Pacific coast of 
America. In this latter case, the distance from one 
island to the other would hardly exceed from fifty to one 

* Humboldt's Cosmo?, vol. ii. p. 237. 



ANCIENT INHABITANTS OP AMERICA. 451 

hundred miles, except in the main channel of the ocean 
where it would perhaps exceed two or three hundred. 
But as all the islands from Kamtschatka to, Borneo, on 
the one side, and from Behring's Straits to the Cordilleras 
:)f South America, on the other, are volcanic, it is at least 
possible that the Aleutian chain at one time extended all 
the way across the ocean — leaving but a few miles of dis- 
tance intermediate between them. It is equally probable, 
however, that Behring's Straits, at a period not very 
remote, may have had no existence in fact — that it afforded 
a narrow isthmus which connected the two continents. 
The formation on both sides is the same — that of the 
hypozoic rocks, some of which, in the form of huge 
boulders or fractured masses, etill lie scattered in the 
narrow channel in the form of ragged peaks and ice-clad 
islands. If the straits were thus traversed by an isthmus 
(or whether they were or not), there is little difficulty in 
referring the origin of the American aborigines to an 
Asiatic source ; for they naturally resolve themselves into 
the Mongolian group. And we might, with equal pro- 
priety, fuse the Malayan into the African type, after which 
we should have but three leading divisions of the human 
species, corresponding with the three great continents 
of the old world, viz., the Caucasian, the Mongolian, and 
the Ethiopian, and with the descendants of the three sons 
of Noah, — Ham, Shem, and Japheth. 

But, with the limited knowledge thus far obtained of 
these ancient people, it would be idle to speculate upon 
their origin, the probable date of their arrival, and the 
means by which they reached the American continent. 
The whole subject, as yet, is too obscure to justify lengthy 
antiquarian disquisitions. But it is nevertheless a very 
pertinent fact, that the characters inscribed on a stone 
slab, interred with the bodies in the mound at Mounds- 
ville, present a striking resemblance to the cuneiform or 



452 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

wedge-shaped letters of the ancient Pelasgians and As- 
syrians. Mr. Layard remarks, that it is not improbable 
that the cuneiform letters were originally formed by lines, 
I'or which the wedge was afterward substituted as an 
embellishment; and that the character itself may once 
have resembled the picture writing of Egypt, though all 
traces of its ideographic properties have been lost. The 
Assyrians, like the Egyptians, possessed at a later period 
a cursive writing, resembling the rounded character of the 
Phoenicians, Palmyrenes, Babylonians, and Jews, which 
was probably used for written documents, while the 
cuneiform was reserved for monumental purposes. There 
is this great difference between the two forms of writing, 
which appears to point to a distinct origin ; — the cunei- 
form runs always from left to right, the cursive from right 
to left. The cuneiform, under various modifications, the 
letters being differently formed in different countries, pre- 
vailed over the greater part of Western Asia to the time 
of the Qverthrow of the Persian empire by Alexander the 
Great. 

The inscription on the Moundsville stone, I believe, 
has never been deciphered. Mr. Schoolcraft, however, 
identifies the letters as belonging to the alphabet of the 
ancient Pelasgi, and other early tribes inhabiting the 
shores of the Mediterranean. Their alphabet consisted 
of sixteen letters, formed by right and acute-angled strokes, 
and was no doubt derived, as they themselves were, from 
the Assyrians or Babylonians. If Mr. Schoolcraft is 
correct (and we know of nothing to impair his testimony 
since the time it was rendered), the people interred in the 
mounds were among the earliest generations of the earth, 
and must have reached this continent about the time that 
the Egyptians, under Cecrops, founded the Kingdom of 
Athens, which occurred \^b% years before the birth of Christ. 
Previous to this period, the southern corner of Europe, 



DISTRIBUTION OP THE ANCIENT RACES OE MAN. 453 

comprehended between the 36° and 41° of latitude, bor- 
dering on Epirus and Macedonia toward the north, and 
on other sides surrounded by the sea, was inhabited, above 
eighteen centuries before the Christian era, by many 
small tribes of hunters and shepherds, among whom the 
Pelasgi and Hellenes were the most powerful and nu- 
merous. 

" The barbarous Pelasgi venerated Gracchus as their founder; and for a 
similar reason the more humane Hellenes respected Deucalion. From his 
Bon Hellen, they derived their general appellation, which originally de- 
noted a small tribe in Thessaly ; and from Dorus, Eolus, and Ion, his 
more remote descendants, they were discriminated by the names of Dorians, 
Eolians, and lonians. The Dorians took possession of that mountainous 
district of Greece, afterward called Doris; the lonians, whose name was 
in some measure lost in the illustrious appellation of Athenians, set- 
tled in the less bar^^ parts of Attica; and the Eolians peopled Elis and 
Arcadia, the western and inland regions of the Peloponnesus. Notwith- 
standing many partial migrations, these three original divisions of the 
Hellenes generally entertained an aflFection for the establishments which 
had been preferred by the wisdom or caprice of their respective ancestors; 
a circumstance which remarkably distinguished the Hellenic from tho 
Pelaegic race. While the former discovered a degree of attachment for 
their native land, seldom found in barbarians, who live by hunting or 
pasturage, the latter, disdaining fixed habitations, xcandered in large bod- 
ies over Greece, or transported themselves into the neighboring islands ; and 
the most considerable portion of them gradually removing to the coasts 
of Italy and Thrace, the remainder melted away into the Doric and Ionic 
tribes. At the distance of twelve centuries, obscure traces of the Pelasgi 
occurred in several Grecian cities ; a district of Thessaly always retained 
their name ; their colonies continued, in the fifth century before Christ, 
to inhabit the southern coast of Italy, and the shores of the Hellespont; and 
in these widely-separated countries, their ancient affinity was recognized 
in the uniformity of their rude dialect and barbarous manners, extremely 
dissimilar to the customs and language of their Grecian neighbors.'^ 

The Noachian deluge occurred 1656 years after the 
creation of Adam. In less than 150 years after the flood, 
Nimrod, the son of Chus, grandson of Ham, and great- 

* Dr. Gillas, History of Ancient Greece, p. 12. 



454 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

grandson of Noah, founded the empire of Assyria, and ^ 
built the city of Babylon, and afterward that of Nineveh. 
Moses speaks of him as a "mighty one in the earth," and 
as having distinguished himself as a hunter. Only six 
years after the founding of Babylon, (A. M. 1816,) Menes 
or Misraim, a son of Ham, settled in Egypt ; and in six 
and a quarter centuries thereafter, (A. M. 2448,) colonies 
from Egypt, under Cecrops, founded Athens. Now, it is 
a very remarkable circumstance that, from the reigns of 
Semiramis and Ninyas, the third and fourth successors 
of Nimrod, to that of Phul and Sardanapalus, a period of 
over fourteen centuries, absolutely nothing is known of the 
ancient empire of Assyria. Although the ruins of Nine- 
veh have been exhumed, and its buried sphinxes, human- 
headed bulls, winged animals, and sculp tjjired panels, have 
been redeemed from the oblivious dust of centuries, but lit- 
tle has been added to our previous knowledge of its more an- 
cient history. Some two or three centuries after the found- 
ing of Babylon, and the confusion of languages in the tower 
of Babel, we find the country overrun with roving tribes 
of hunters and shepherds ; and under the circumstances, 
we are bound to infer that all or most of them were off- 
shoots from the kingdom of Nimrod, and that they car- 
ried with them some of the principles, habits, and arts, 
which distinguished his race. Among these we include 
the Pelasgi — a people of varied habits, but like Nimrod, 
their ancestor, especially distinguished as hunters, and for 
their more barbarous, roving, and adventurous disposition 
as compared with the Hellenes. When, however, after the 
lapse of three or four more centuries, the territory of these 
roving tribes was invaded by colonies of Egyptians, and 
the kingdom of Cecrops founded, it is highly probable 
that their religion and habits were gradually absorbed into 
those of the more enlightened, enterprising, and powerful 
races. If this supposition be correct, — (and all the 



ANCIENT COLONIZATION OP AMERICA. 455 

facts of history tend to confirm it in .a most rema/kable 
manner,) we at once obtain a key to the origin and mean- 
ing of the images and other works of art strewn over the 
American continent by its aborigines. They were the 
work of the Pelasgic descendants of the* Egyptians. 
Moved with* the spirit of emigration and colonization 
which prevailed at that early period, they carried with 
them to the new world the religion of the Egyptians, with 
the original instincts for hunting and adventure of the 
Pelasgi. Being thus a race of hunters, and moving about 
from place to place in quest of novelty, adventure, and 
game, they built but few cities or palaces, and hence have 
left little else behind except their conical mounds and 
pyramids ; their rude towers and walls ; their ornaments 
and idols of gold and brass ; their utensils of stone and 
earth. 

The Egyptians had a great number of gods, but only 
two of them were universal, viz., Osiris and Isis, supposed 
to represent the sun and moon. Both of these are typi- 
fied in the Chiriqui anaglyphs, but in a manner somewhat 
obscure. But besides these, they worshiped nearly every 
known animal, as well as certain vegetables. Among those 
most popular were the ox, the cat, the wolf, the dog, the 
hawk, the owl, the crocodile, the ibis, the ichneumon, etc. 
While some of these were held in the highest estimation 
by certain tribes or cities, they were the superstitious 
abomination of others, and not unfrequently were the un- 
conscious means of fomenting fraternal dissensions and 
bloody hostilities between tribes. Juvenal satirized these 
varied gods in the following lines : 

"Who has not heard where Egypt's realms are named, 
What monster-gods her frantic sons have framed ? 
Her© Ibis, gorged with well-known serpents, there 
The crocodile commands religious fear. 
Where Memnon's statue magic strings inspire 
With vocal sounds that emulate the lyre; 



456 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

And Thebes, (such, Fate, are thy disastrous turns !) 
Now prostrate o'er her pompous ruins mourns; 
A monkey-god, — prodigious to be told ! — 
Strikes the beholder's eye with burnished gold. 
To godship here blue Triton's scaly herd, 
The "fiver progeny is there preferred ; 
Through towns Diana's power neglected lies. 
Where to her dogs aspiring temples rise; 
And should you leeks or onions eat, no time 
Would expiate the sacrilegious crime. 
Religious nations sure, and blest abodes, 
Where every orchard is o'erruu with gods I" 

Nearly every. nation of antiquity liad a superstitious 
veneration for certain animals or idols, wliich they wor- 
shiped under the pretext of symbolical gods. " Philoso- 
phers," says Plutarch, ''honor the image of God wherever 
they find it, even in inanimate beings, and consequently 
more in those which have life. We are therefore to ap- 
prove, not the worshipers of these animals, but those who,, 
by their means, ascend to the Deity ; they are to be con- 
sidered as so many mirrors, which Nature holds forth, 
and in which the Supreme Being displays himself in a 
wonderful manner ; or, as so many instruments which he 
makes use of to manifest outwardly his incomprehensible 
wisdom. " 

" Among us," says Cicero, " it is very common to see 
temples robbed, and statues carried away ; but it was 
never known that any person in Egypt ever abused an 
ibis, a crocodile, or a cat ; for its inhabitants would have 
suffered the most extreme torments rather than be guilty 
of such sacrilege." It is supposed that the celebrated 
Pythagoras derived his doctrine of the transmigration of 
the soul from the Egyptians ; for their attachment and 
veneration for animals would appear to have been founded 
on the belief that, at the death of men, their souls trans- 
migrated into other human bodies ; but that, if they had 
been vicious during life, they were imprisoned in the 



DISPERSION OF THE NOACHIAN FAIVIILY. 457 

'bodies of unclean animals, to expiate in them their past 
transgressions. Who can doubt but that this idea formed 
the basis of the religion, whatever it may have been in 
other essentials, of the American aborigines, and espe- 
cially of the Central American race, whose relics have 
been exhumeci ? Why surround their dead with the im- 
ages of animals, unless, during life, they were regarded 
with superstitious veneration ? Why repeat the follies of 
the Egyptians ? — why rear gigantic mounds and pyramids, 
and carve in gold, and brass, and stone, the forms of dogs, 
and vultures, and crocodiles, and crabs, if there was not a 
connection, more or less direct, with the prevailing idio- 
syncrasies and superstitious religion of the original inhab- 
itants of the Nile, the Euphrates, and the Mediterranean ? 

But we obtain, in the religion, and superstition, and the 
artistic works and evident hunting proclivities of the 
Pelasgic- Egyptian race, not only a clew to the origin of 
the American aborigines, but also to the introduction on 
the American continent and the various islands of the 
ocean, of many of the animals belonging to the original 
Adamite creation ; but more especially those of the domes- 
tic kind, as the hoi^e, sheep, cattle, goats, dogs, cats, etc. 
The remains of these animals, wherever found, are cO' 
temporary with man, and none of them — no, not one of 
them — existed here before the Noachian deluge ! 

It would be foreign to the main purpose of this work, 
and would absorb altogether too much space, to trace the 
diffusion of the human race, after the flood, from Noah 
and his sons. After the landing of the ark on the moun- 
tains of Ararat or Armenia, the family of Noah remained 
for some time in that country, ranging between the Cas- 
pian Sea on the north, Asia Minor on the west, and the 
Red Sea on the south. The centre o.' population was 
doubtless in the vicinity of the Euphrates, which empties 
into the Persian Gulf. When God commanded them to 



468 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

disperse, and to replenish the earth, Nimrod, and the de- 
scendants of Ham, migrated northward, into what after- 
ward became the Assyrian and the Babylonian empire. 
Shem and his descendants moved south, toward the Nile 
and along the Ked Sea and the Mediterranean ; while 
Japheth and his descendants settled along the northern 
slope of the Mediterranean, in Greece, Turkey, and the 
mountains of Caucasia. For many centuries, the human 
family, or rather, the great bulk of it, led a migratory and 
roving life — either subsisting by hunting, or by grazing 
sheep and cattle. As families increased, governments 
were instituted ; and when, by marriages and social rela- 
tions, families and tribes united for the common protec- 
tion, governors were clothed with authority to regulate 
their domestic concerns. These little communities, by 
the natural law of increase, expanded into nations^ and 
with such expansion came the ambition to build cities, 
and to surround themselves with the more permanent 
appliances and conveniences of life. With the increase of 
population and the growth of cities, the authority of rulers 
extended itself, whereupon new religions were adopted, 
new principles inculcated, and new and varied avocations 
pursued. Jealousies between tribes and nations were 
aroused ; wars were carried on, and, in short, in a few 
centuries from the dispersion of Noah's family, millions of 
people were scattered over the vast region of country ex- 
tending from the Atlantic coast of Britain eastward 
through Europe, Asia, and Africa, to the distant shores 
of India, China, and Japan. Nation after nation arose, 
some distinguished for their wonderful mechanical genius, 
as the Egyptians ; some for their commercial enterprise, 
as the Phcenicians, and Carthaginians ; some for their 
literature, poetry, and fine arts, as the Grecians and 
Romans ; and all, more or less, for their wars, conquests, 
colonies, forms of government, science, philosophy, archi- 



ANCIENT INHABITANTS OP THE EARTH. 459 

tecture, religion, etc., etc. They rose and fell, one after 
the other, until there is now little left of them, outside of 
Europe, but the sculptured remains of their ruined palaces, 
their superstitious idols, their works of art, and the names 
of their great kings, generals, poets, and philosophers. 

In glancing over the history of the ancient nations 
thus distributed over Africa, Asia, and Europe, one fact 
will strike the reader with irresistible force, viz. , that the 
human species, four thousand years ago, possessed mental 
and physical properties fully equal, if not superior in 
many respects, to the people of the present age. All their 
works were on a grand and magnificent scale, and have 
excited the wonder and admiration of all succeeding ages. 
Some of the palaces and temples of Thebes, presented a 
forest of lofty marble pillars, stretching out in long 
avenues and porticos, lined with innumerable sphinxes. 
A single hall, in one of these stupendous edifices, was 
supported by one hundred and twenty pillars, six fathoms 
round, of a proportionate height, and intermixed with 
obelisks which so many ages have not been able to de- 
molish. Painting, too, had displayed all her art. " The 
colors themselves, which soonest feel the injury of time, 
still remained amidst the ruins of this wonderful structure, 
and preserved much of their original beauty and lustre — 
so happily could the Egyptians imprint a character of im- 
mortality on all their works."* Every portion of Egypt 
abounded in obelisks. They were for the most part cut 
in the quarries of Upper Egypt, where some were left 
half-finished. But the most wonderful circumstance is, 
that the ancient Egyptians should have had the art and 
contrivance to dig canals, from the very quarries to the 
river Nile, by means of which, during the high inundations 
ot that river, they floated the obelisks to different parts 

* RoUin, Tfho also quotes Strabo. 



460 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

of the country. This was accomplished by rafts or air- 
inflated skins ; but when we consider the enormous pro- 
portions and weight of the obelisks, thus cut out of the 
quarries, the means would seem utterly disproportioned 
to the task. Thus, Sesostris erected in Heliopolis two 
obelisks of extremely hard stone, brought from the quarries 
of Syene, each one hundred and eighty feet in length. 
This, be it understood, was a single mass of rock, cut into 
a quadrangular shape, raised perpendicularly, and in- 
scribed with hieroglyphics or mystical characters. The 
Emperor Augustus, after he made Egypt a province of the 
Koman Empire, caused these obelisks to be transported 
to Kome, one of which was broken into several pieces. 
Constantinus afterward removed a third one, even larger 
than the first. The pyramids also constituted a very re- 
markable feature among the monuments of the ancient 
Egyptians, and were scattered all over the empire. Those 
near Memphis, however, were the most considerable. 
The largest was built on a rock, having a square base, 
cut on the outside as so many steps, and decreasing 
gradually to the summit. It was built with stones of a 
prodigious size, the least of which were thirty feet, wrought 
with wonderful art, and covered with hieroglyphics. Ac- 
cording to several ancient authors, each side was eight hun- 
dred feet broad, and as many high. The summit of the 
pyramid, which to those who stood below, seemed a point, 
was a fine platform, composed of ten or twelve massive 
stones, and each side of that platform sixteen or eighteen 
feet long. It is said that one hundred thousand men were 
constantly employed about this work, and were relieved 
every three months by the same number. Ten years 
were spent in hewing out the stones, either in Arabia or 
Ethiopia, and in conveying them to Egypt; and twenty 
years more in building this immense edifice, the inside of 
which contained numberless rooms and apartments. 



■WORKS OP ART OP THE EGYPTIANS. 461 

These pyramids were tombs, and there is still to be seen, 
in the middle of the largest, an empty sepulchre, cut out 
of one entire stone, about three feet deep and broad, and 
a little above six feet long. Such were the pyramids, 
which, by their figure, as well as size, have completely 
triumphed over the injuries of time and the barbarians. 
Pliny gives us a just idea of their object, when he calls 
them a foolish and useless ostentation of the wealth of 
Egyptian kings, and adds, that by a just punishment, 
their memory is buried in oblivion — the historians them- 
selves not agreeing about the names of those who first 
raised these vain monuments. Diodorus judiciously 
observed that the industry of the architects is no less 
valuable and praiseworth}^, than the designs uf the 
Egyptian kings are contemptible and ridiculous. But 
what we should most admire in these ancient monuments 
is, the true and standing evidence they give of the skill of 
the Egyptians in astronomy. M. de Chazeller, when he 
measured the great pyramid, found that the four sides of 
it were turned exactly to the four quarters of the world, 
and consequently showed the true meridian of the place. 

What has been said concerning the judgment we ought 
to form of the pyramids, may also be applied to the laby- 
rinth. This was not so much one single palace, as a 
magnificent pile composed of twelve palaces, regularly 
disposed, which had a communication with each other. 
Fifteen hundred rooms, interspersed with terraces, were 
ranged round twelve principal halls, and discovered no 
outlet to such as went to see them. There was the like 
number of buildings under ground. These subterraneous 
structures were designed for the burial place of kings, and 
also for keeping the sacred crocodiles, which a nation so 
wise and powerful in other respects, worshiped as 
gods ! 

But, in the estimation of many, the noblest and most 



462 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. ~ 

wonderful work of all the kings of Egypt, was the lake of 
McEris. Its exact dimensions have been disputed ; but ac- 
cording to modern travelers, it was twenty thousand paces, 
or over seven French leagues in circumference. Some of 
the ancient authors made it more than one hundred and 
eighty French leagues, but this is evidently an exaggera- 
tion. Two pyramids, on each of which was placed a 
colossal statue, seated on a throne, raised their heads to 
the height of three hundred feet in the midst of the lake, 
while their foundations took up the same space under the 
water. This lake had a communication with the Nile by 
a great canal, and was intended to store water for the 
supply of the country during seasons of drought, or 
when the river failed in its customary annual over- 
flows. 

We have cited these familiar examples of the works of 
ancient art, merely to remind the reader of the almost un- 
limited resources, power, and mechanical skill of the earlier 
races of mankind, and to support the proposition pre- 
viously advanced, viz., that in many respects they far sur- 
passed any subsequent age or nation. But we might cite 
many other examples — nations that equally surpassed the 
moderns in science, literature, and the fine arts ; in mining, 
manufactures, and commerce ; or in government, philo- 
sophy, and statesmanship. The present has the benefit 
of the discoveries of previous ages. It can detect the 
follies of the past, and improve upon' the good that has 
descended from it. It enjoj^s the rich legacy bequeathed 
by its fathers, and nearly every thing that it accom- 
pUshes, is but the reflex of past ages, from whence our 
modes of thought and action were, in a great measure, 
derived. They were our predecessors in poetry, music, 
the drama — in war, the arts, sciences — in architecture, 
statuary, painting — and although we may, in some cases, 
have improved upon the original models, according to the 



FIRST SETTLEMENT OF AMERICA. 465 

idiosyncrasies of particular nations and ages, yet, upon 
the whole, we have never surpassed them, and probably 
never will. 

Now, is it likely that nations thus distinguished — na- 
tions which, like the Phoinicians, Carthaginians, and Gre- 
cians, sent their fleets to every sea, and planted colonies in 
the most distant points, should, for more tKan three thou- 
sand years, remain ignorant of the American continent ? 
Or is it to be supposed that, after their downfall, one follow- 
ing fast upon the other, it was finally reserved for Spain, 
(which had previously been but a colony of Carthaginia, 
from whose bowels she mined her gold, silver, copper, 
lead, and other minerals,) emerging from a long-protracted 
era of ignorance, superstition and darkness ; — that it was 
reserved for her alone, in the fifteenth century, to make the 
discovery of America ? I repeat : Can any one, after con- 
templating the extraordinary resources, enterprise, and 
learning of the previous ages, suppose that America re- 
mained unknown to the world until the discovery of 
Columbus ? The idea is preposterous. The knowledge 
of this continent may indeed, have died out with the extin- 
guishment of the ancient Asiatic and African nations 
themselves, as it did with the Icelanders, and in the dark- 
ness which enshrouded Europe during the middle ages, 
may have been completely lost to those people, if indeed, 
any knowledge of it had previously existed among them ; 
— ^but it is utterly. inconsistent with any estimate that we 
can form of the power, nautical enterprise, and learning 
of the previous ages, to suppose that they should have 
remained ignorant of it, when in an after age, notoriously 
effeminate and destitute of means, the discovery should 
still have been made, upon geographical grounds, supposed 
to be original and independent, but really far otherwise. 
Columbus derived his theory of the New World from the 
Icelanders, colonists from Norway, who had previously 
30 



<-*^ 



464 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

settled the Atlantic Coast from Boston to New York, as 
early as the tenth century, and it is well known that, 
when he actually landed in South America, four centuries 
after, he could not persuade himself that it was a new 
continent — every thing induced him to regard it as a por- 
tion of the far-off Indies, and hence the name which por- 
tions of it bear to this day ! 

There are so many things in the history and works of 
the more ancient races that we cannot comprehend, and 
so much to challenge our admiration and wonder, that it 
would be contrary to all reason and analogy to presume 
upon their geographical ignorance, in the face of monu- 
ments which our own continent is now revealing of an 
absolute identity between them and our aborigines. Such 
a presumption would not only be unreasonable, but it 
would be the sheerest folly when we remember that, while 
the works, physiological features, languages, and inscrip- 
tions of the aborigines bear no resemblance whatever to 
the nations of Modern Europe, there is in everything a 
most remarkable similarity to the ancient inhabitants of 
the Mediterranean, and of the adjacent countries around 
the original seat of the ISToachian race. "The compara- 
tive study of languages," says the great and profound 
Alexander Von Humboldt, who maintains the unity of 
races, " shows us that races now separated by vast tracts 
of land are allied together, and have migrated from one 
common primitive seat : it indicates the course and direc- 
tion of all migrations, and, in tracing the leading epochs 
of development, recognizes, by means of the more or less 
changed structure of the language, in the permanence of 
certain forms, or in the more or less advanced destruction 
of the formative system, which race has retained most 
nearly the language common to all who had migrated from 
the general seat of origin. The largest field for such in- 
vestigations into the ancient condition of languages, and, 



ALTERNATION OP ANIMAL RACES. 465 

consequently, into the period when the whole family of 
mankind was, in the strict sense of the word, to be re- 
garded as one living whole, presents itself in the long chain 
of Indo-Germanic languages, extending from the Ganges 
to the Iberian extremity of Europe, and from Sicily to the 
Iforth Cape. The same comparative study of languages 
leads us also to the native country of certain products 
which, from the earliest ages, have constituted important 
objects of trade and barter. The Sanscrit names of 
genuine Indian products, as those of rice, cotton, spike- 
nard and sugar have, as we find, passed into the language 
of the Greeks, and to a certain extent, even into those 
of Shemitic origin."* 

But the theory of the ancient colonization of America, 
is not only supported by the similarity existing between 
the trans-oceanic races and their works, but is strikingly 
corroborated by the animal creation. Cuvier, and other 
distinguished anatomists, from whom we have already 
quoted, pointed out the fact that each continent appears 
to have a fauna peculiarly its own ; and that in America, 
the animals invariably belonged to a class very ancient in 
the scale of creation. When the " Spaniards first visited 
South America, they did not find a single species of 
quadruped the same as any in Europe, Asia, or Africa — 
the puma, jaguar, tapir, lama, sloths, armadillos, opossums, 
etc., were to them entirely new animals." He might 
have added that ^en the natives whom Columbus met, 
were an entirely new race — not different in species, for 
that was impossible ; but like the animals themselves, 
new and unknown. And why was this ? The races 
whom the Indians most resembled, had long before died 
out ; and so even the animals had no longer any known 
representatives in Asia, Africa, or Europe. But on 

^ Humboldt, Cosmos, vol. ii. p. 111. 



466 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

digging up the eartli, wliat do we find? First, the 
ancient progenitors of the American aborigines, and 
then, one by one, the ancient progenitors of the American 
animals ! It is a singular and extraordinary coincidence, 
that, while nearly every leading naturalist points out this 
remarkable feature in the faunas of America, Australia, 
and New Zealand, not one has the temerity to suggest 
their common origin, as if science should be compromised 
if found to add aught to the simple facts of the Bible ! It 
is not worth while here to again go into particulars, for 
if I did, fifty pages of my book would be occupied with 
the details. Sufi&ce it to say, that so far have all geologists 
carried this proposition, (of the faunas of America, Austra- 
lia and numerous oceanic islands being of greater antiquity 
than the existing faunas of Europe, Asia, and Africa,) that 
some of them have even assigned a similar antiquity to 
the vegetation. " It is a circumstance quite extraordinary 
and unexpected," says Prof. Agassiz, in his work on Lake 
Superior, " that the fossil plants of the Tertiary beds of 
CEningen resemble more closely the trees and shrubs which 
grow at present in the eastern parts of North America, 
than those of any other parts of the world ; thus allowing 
us to express correctly the difference between the opposite 
coasts of Europe and America, by saying that the present 
eastern American flora, and, I may add, the fauna also, 
have a more ancient character than those of Europe." 
The mastodon, once so numerous in America, had 
previously flourished in Europe and Asia, and its bones 
are there found in strata older than those which contain 
them here. The South American tapir, the hog, the 
puma, the lama, armadillo, (in short, all the animals now 
existing here), had their analogues in the Old World ; and 
many of the species became extinct there about the very 
time that we can suppose them to have been introduced 
here. In like manner, the marsupials of Australia are no 



ALTERNATION OF ANIMAL RACES. 467 

longer found in the old world, and are represented in 
America by the opossum and pouched rats ; but extinct 
genera of these animals are found all over the earth, and 
are not confined to any particular localities, as the living 
species now appear to be. As the a,nimals ran out in the 
old continents, they made their appearance in the new 
ones ; and the very same fact holds good with the races 
of man. Many animals, especially those valuable for their 
fur, their hides, or their flesh, or those obnoxious to the 
lords of creation, have already become extinct during the 
present brief settlement of America ; while the Indians 
themselves are gradually disappearing with them. The 
bones of the one will mingle with those of the other ; .as 
those of their predecessors are now found side by side 
with the Mastodon, Megatherium, the Paleotherium, etc. 
For more than three centuries, Europe, Asia, and Africa 
have been emptying their overflowing population on our 
shores ; and the effects thus produced on the physical 
aspect of the continent need not be pointed out. Old 
things are eradicated — new ones introduced. The wild 
animals give place to the domestic ones. The aborigines 
fade away before the white man, like flies nijTped by 
autumnal frosts. Nature works slowly and mysteriously ; 
but always on the same general plan. What we see 
going on now, has occurred before, and will occur again. 
One race of animals must give way to another, as one race 
of man is superseded by another. The seat of ancient art 
and population in Asia and Africa, has long been little 
else than a barren waste. The time will come when it 
will again attract a superior population, and the semi- 
barbarous people now inhabiting it vjill die out, as the 
American Indian 2.s trampled down beneath the advancing 
march of civilization! The lion and the tiger will give 
way to the sheep and the ox ; and the school -house and 
the church spire will smile on plains now traversed by 



468 THE SEVENTH DAY— THE SABBATH. 

wandering caravans, or dotted with fragile tents and with 
temples of heathen gods. 

All the smaller animals, including the deer, the horse, 
the buffalo, the tapir, the sheep, the lama, and many 
others, were brought here by the earliest colonies, and 
their hides, and wool, or fur, constituted then, as they 
have since, a profitable article of commercial traflQc. The 
increase of population in the old world prevented their 
mature development there. Among nations who could 
go to war with a million soldiers under arms, as was re- 
peatedly the case with Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt, Car- 
thaginia, Persia, and Greece, (that of Xerxes, when he 
lay before Thermopylae, was estimated at several millions,) 
it may readily be surmised that the inferior animals, if not 
absolutely extinct, would soon become so ; and hence the 
policy of transplanting them to the new world would sug- 
gest itself as a scheme worthy the sagacity and unlimited 
enterprise of those great nations. But, independent of 
the commercial aspect, of the scheme, the religion of the 
Egyptians, and other nations, was such that their people 
would natur^ly take with them animals which they were 
taught to regard with superstitious reverence. The dog, 
the cat, the oxen, and many others, were absolutely insep- 
arable from them, — they were household gods. And who 
can doubt but that the Almighty suffered this abominable 
superstition to prevail, for the purpose of effecting some 
ultimate and unseen good ? He seems to have used these 
very idolaters for the express purpose of transplanting his 
creation to other worlds ; while he suffered them to rear 
up their everlasting monuments of folly, merely to exhibit 
to succeeding generations the ineffaceable gloom and deso- 
lation that now brood over tbem. In the very height of 
their power and glory, and at a time when the true God had 
been utterly forgotten, they were yet unconsciously car- 
ryiyig out his decrees ! They were allowed strength that 



ALTERNATION OP ANIMAL RACES. 469 

they might the better work ; they were allowed indomitable 
enterprise that the whole world might be subdued; they 
were allowed exalted learning to show how contracted 
was their vision, when, unable to fathom the works of the 
Creator, they bowed down to beasts and sculptured idols. 
All this, I repeat, was tolerated that ultimate good might 
flow from it ; for every seeming evil in the plan of creation, 
invariably carries with it a compensating virtue. Poison 
has its antidote ; affliction brings consolations ; and the 
terrors of death itself vanish before the angels of hope, 
which bear away the undying soul* 

I now come to the direct consideration of the seventh 
day or Sabbath. God rested the seventh day for the pur- 
pose of showing that his work was done. Had he not 
designated such a period of rest, it would have appeared 
that his creative work was continuous ; but we know that 
such is not the fact. Changes occur on the surface of the 
earth, both in organic life and in organic forms ; but there 
are no new and special creations. All the effects now pro- 
duced are the results of laiv, not of new creative ads. 
When, therefore, God finisJied his creation, its successive 
stages were symbolized by the days allotted to man, and 

* We had no idea, at the outset, of lingering so long on this branch of 
the subject. We have many other suggestions which might properly be 
introduced, but the bulk of manuscript already accumulated, admonishes 
me of the necessity of leaving it, at least for the present. Many of the 
views that I have presented are new — some of them novel. I do not know 
what the world may think of them, if, indeed, anybody shall even think 
of them at all. But I indulge a hope that I, or some one else, may be 
able, at some future time, to set them forth in a better light. The truths 
of nature are like game — they must be hunted for; and even when found 
out, it is not every marksman that can " ahnnt folly as it flies, or catch the 
manners, living, as they rise." If my friend, the reader, should coincide 
with me, and bo amused and entertained by the facts and positions I have 
presented to his consideration, I shall be well rewarded for all the paper, 
ink, candles, and so forth, that have been consumed ! 



.410 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

he hallowed the seventh, for the purpose of saving him 
from the evil effects of continuous labor. No one could 
understand the complicated and delicate mechanism of 
man better than the Creator himself. He knew evei^ 
artery and bone ; every little treacherous nerve and vessel, 
and how easily they could all be unstrung, disorganized, 
and ruptured. He knew the delicate sensations of the 
brain — the inimitable fibres of the eye — the drum-like 
caverns of the ear — the pendulum vibrations of the heart, 
(like " mufiled drums, beating funeral marches to the 
grave.") Knowing man's constitution and physical or- 
ganization, the Creator saw the necessity for periods of 
alternate rest from toil ; and experience has demonstrated 
that the seventh day is as essential to his health, and to 
the maintenance of vigor of body and mind, as sleep and 
regular periods for meals. And not only is this requisite 
for man and all laboring animals, but it applies with 
nearly equal propriety to machinery, especially locomo- 
tives and steam engines. When these are kept constantly 
employed for long periods, the iron loses its polish, elasti- 
city, and strength ; there is an inequality between the 
active working parts, and those less occupied — between 
those exposed to the action of heat and steam, and those 
more exempt. To preserve such machines in good run- 
ning order, they require occasional relaxation, during 
which time their surfaces may be cleaned, polished, and 
lubricated. But if this be true of inanimate machines, it 
has ten times the force when applied to animals. No one 
need be told that a horse, driven consecutively on a long 
journey, without Sabbath-rests, would soon become 
weakened and exhausted. The animal requires fixed 
times to recuperate his system. A bow, when it remains 
bent for a considerable time, cannot relax its fibres so as 
to resume its originally straight form ; — but if, after use, 
the string be removed, it will resume its natural form, and 



NECESSITY FOR SABBATH RESTS. 411 

^hus preserve all its strength and elasticity. After a man 
works during the day, sleep will restore him in the night ; 
but if he continued on, without giving his mind and body 
an opportunity to recuperate on the seventh day, he would 
soon degenerate, and the human family, in a few genera- 
tions, would become a race of enervated, over-worked 
pigmies — a race of parched, dried-up mummies, devoid of 
vitality and manly energy of body and mind. God knew 
this, and hence hallowed the Sabbath. 

But while he hallowed the seventh day, he appointed 
all the others for labor. " Six days shalt thou workP^ — 
not six days shalt thou fritter away in idleness, dissipa- 
tion, and sin ! Some people, of late, have manifested a 
great deal of zeal in behalf of the Seventh day, (or rather, 
in behalf of the Christian Sabbath, which, however, is all 
the same,) but seem entirely to overlook the^rs^ part of 
the command. Many of them would appear to think 
that they are obeying the injunction by keeping the one 
day, when, in fact, they are equally bound to keep all of 
them. The Creator never contemplated man as an idler. 
He made him for work ! — he put him on the earth to cul- 
tivate, and embellish, and subdue it. 

And speaking of cultivation : The wisdom of the Al- 
mighty is demonstrated in another way, in connection 
with this very subject. He has not only enjoined a Sab- 
bath upon man, but has applied it in a somewhat similar 
manner to the very ground whereon we tread. The 
twenty-fifth chapter of Leviticus opens with these re- 
markable words : " 

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, on Mount Sinai, saying, Speak unto 
the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land 
which I give you, then shall the land keep a Sabbath unto the Lord. 
Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy 
vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof: But in the seventh year shall 
be a Sabbath of rest unto the land, a Sabbath for the Lord ; thou shalt 
neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of 



412 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the 
grapes of thy vine undressed ; for it is a year of rest unto the land. And 
the Sabbath of the land shall be meat for you ; for thee and for thy ser- 
vant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger 
that sojourneth with thee. And for 'thy cattle, and for the beasts that 
are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat." 



The recent progress made in agricultural science has 
established, in the most overwhelming manner, the wis- 
dom of this law ; which, like ten thousand others, tends 
to elevate the Bible so high in the philosophy of life and 
nature, that nothing short of direct inspiration can account 
for its authenticit}^ The science of chemistry was un- 
known at the time Moses lived — but more particularly 
agricultural chemistry. Even the art of compounding 
medicine, if it extended beyond the admixture of the juices 
of roots and vegetables, was not based upon the fixed 
principles of chemistry, and had no systematic application 
to any of the arts. And yet these instructions of Moses 
are based upon true chemical principles — principles which 
man has been more than four thousand years in finding 
out. His practical experience never would have revealed 
the cause of the exhaustion and impoverishment of soils, 
and the means to be applied for their restoration, had it 
not been for the demonstrations of chemistry ; — chemistry, 
a modern science. Why does the farmer rotate his crops? 
"Why does he divide his farm into seven or eight principal 
fields, and then observe a systematic change and "alterna- 
tion of crops from one to the other ? Because the earth 
is made up of various mineral substances, derived from 
the decomposition of rocks and organic matter, which, 
attracting the carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen of 
the atmosphere, unite in ever varying proportions, and as 
they erect vegetable tissues, ^pply to it sugar, gum, 
starch, and the various acids, salts, alkalies, and oils. All 
plants are mainly made up of potassa, soda, lime, mag- 



CHEMICAL LAW OF VEGETATION. 473 

nesia, and sesquioxyd of iron, which are invariably com- 
bined in greater or less proportions with carbonic acid, 
sulphuric acid, silicic acid, phosphoric acid, and various 
chlorids. The chemical combinations thus formed be- 
tween the elements of the earth and of the air ; the power 
they exert of precipitating chemical acids, and of stimu- 
lating vegetable vitality, in all its wonderful forms, is 
derived mainly fro')n the soil. For if the mineral iiigre- 
dients necessary to attract the elements of the air, are 
wanting in the soil, no vegetable acids can be evolved, 
and consequently crops cannot be raised. This is es- 
pecially the case when a succession of crops of the same 
kind are planted in the same soil — the particular elements 
which enter into such crops being exhausted, there is no 
longer remaining sufficient strength in the mineral par- 
ticles of the soil to attract the carbon, oxygen, and hydro- 
gen of the air, and form vegetable acids with them. 

Wheat usually contains an average of 56 parts of starch, 
14 of gluten, 8 of sugar, 5 of gum, 2 of bran, and from 10 
to 13 of water. The bran generally occupies about one- 
fourth of the entire weight of the grain, and is even more 
nutritious (in gluten) than the white flour. When the 
grain is burned, there is left behind about 2 per cent, of 
ash, nearly one-half of which consists of phosphoric acid, 
the other constituents being potash, silica, magnesia, soda, 
oxyd of iron, lime, etc., etc. These mineral substances 
are minutely diffused throughout the whole seed, but the 
bran contains the most. The quantity of starch in corn 
meal varies from 70 to 80 per cent. ; in rye flour, from 50 
to 60 ; in buckwheat, about 50 ; in peas and beans, 42 ; 
and in potatoes, from 13 to 15 (with the addition of nearly 
70 parts of water). All the cereals are thus distinguislied 
for the production of starch and gluten ; while in otlicrs 
the leading element is sugar ; in others, gum, resin, and 
mineral oils ; in others, alkalies, poisonous extracts, color- 



4t4 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

ing principles, etc., etc. Over two hundred distinct acid 
compounds, the products of vegetation, have been isolated 
and described by chemists. They are all composed (but 
in ever-varying degrees of combination) of carbon, hydro- 
gen, and oxygen, vs^ith the latter generally in excess. 
They are almost invariably found in combination with 
the varied mineral bases of the soil, as potash, soda, 
lime, etc. 

Now, it is plain that as all the cereal crops absorb a 
large amount of starch and gluten, the mineral particles in 
the soil which elaborate these substances would ultimately 
lose their vitality, and the ground become impoverished by 
uninterrupted succession of such crops. To overcome this 
tendency to exhaustion, all farmers find it absolutely 
necessary to return to the ground some of the elements 
thus absorbed from it, and to enable it anew to attract 
moisture and heat by which to maintain the fermenting 
and acid principle of vegetation. Animal manures, bone- 
dust, lime, wood-ashes, straw, and decomposed vegeta- 
tion accomplish this office in a great measure, not only by 
their acids dissolving the coherent particles of earth and 
rock, and rendering the soil porous and open to the ope- 
ration of the air and moisture, but to enable it to attract 
from the air the particular qualities demanded for the 
support of the crop. The substances which make up the 
great bulk of the structure of all plants — cellulose, lignine, 
starch, sugar, and gum — contain oxygen and hydrogen in 
exactly the same proportions as they exist in water, and 
they may in fact be regarded as water in combination 
with carbon. Plants absorb through their roots much 
more water than is applied to the enlargement of their 
structure, and in such cases a constant evaporation takes 
place from their leaves. By this process all the solid parts 
of the plant are assimilated from the sap, which is itself ren- 
dered liquid by the water. But the carbonic acid which 



CHEMICAL LAW OF VEGETABLE GROWTH. 4T5 

plants absorb is mainly received through their leaves — 
all of which are furnished with innumerable pores to effect 
this object. "These pores are found mainly upon the 
under side of the leaf. In the white lily, where they are 
unusually large, and are easily seen by a simple micro- 
scope of moderate power, there a^e about 60,000 to the 
sq^iare inch on the epidermis of the lower surface, and 
only about 3,000 in the same space upon the upper sur- 
face. Direct sunshine being unfavorable to their opera- 
tion, they are more commonly found on the lower surface 
of leaves. Although but two measures of carbonic acid 
gas are contained in 5,000 of air, its aggregate supply, by 
reason of the great extent of the atmosphere, is very large, 
and has been estimated to exceed seven tons for each acre 
of the earth's surface. The immensely-extended sur- 
face presented by the leaves of plants enables them to 
withdraw carbonic acid from the atmosphere in a very 
rapid manner. But carbonic acid, when the soil is rich 
in decomposing vegetable matter, is also evolved in the 
ground, and is fed to the roots of the plants in the form 
of a solution. The acid is decomposed, and its carbon 
constituents being retained by the plant, the oxygen 
originally combined with it is restored to the atmosphere. 
Thus, plants will grow in proportion to the power of the 
soil to supply such carbon ; and this is primarily depen- 
dent on the amount of material furnished to it so as to 
enable it to attract, and then to assimilate, the elements 
when obtained."* 

Now, the experience of farmers in all ages has demon- 
strated that, notwithstanding all the manures annually 
returned to the soil, and in addition to the regular alter- 
nation of crops, it is yet absolutely essential to let one of 
the fields lie fallow every year, and thus, by a system of 

* Wells' Chemistry. 



4T6 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

rotation, all of them obtain, in their turn, a Sahbath if rest 
every seventh year, agreeably to the Mosaic requirement, 
It will thus be seen that the institution of the Sabbath is 
founded upon a direct law of Nature, and, in the case of 
the ground, involves the nicest and most complex princi- 
ples of chemistry — the whole phenomena of earthy con- 
stituents, air, water, chemical combinations and acids, 
and the functions and secretions of all plants. As these 
things were unknown to Science during the age that 
Moses lived, it follows that, like many other laws founded 
on similar philosophical knowledge, they must have been 
revealed to him by the Creator himself, who, as we have 
before remarked, was in closer intercourse with the early 
races of mankind than he has been at any time since, 
except during the holy mission of the Saviour. If civil- 
ized man kept no Sabbath of rest, it is not too much to 
infer that he would, in the course of a few generations, 
relapse into a savage or barbarous condition, respecting 
neither the laws of nature nor the governmental institu- 
tions of man, framed for the common decorum and pro- 
tection of society. Nearly all the laws of Moses, which, at 
this remote age, appear so anomalous and singular, were 
based upon the peculiar habits and principles of mankind at 
that early day, and were doubtless the best that could have 
been devised to lead the Israelites from the superstitions 
and worship of idols with which, during their long sojourn 
among the Egyptians, they had become prepossessed. 
This is evinced from the fact that, on their return from 
that God-afflicted land, during the temporary absence of 
Moses on one of his missions to receive new instructions 
from God, they compelled Aaron to set up a golden calf, 
which they immediately fell down and worshiped in the 
true Egyptian spirit. This shows very conclusively the 
necessity for the adoption of forms and sacrifices, that 
their minds might be constantly directed to God, and that 



THE HARMONY OF NATURE. 477 

their whole study and their worldly possessions should, 
as it were, be devoted to the service of the true God, in- 
stead of the absurd and demoralizing worship of images 
and animals. And the experience of modern nations and 
communities has proved the fact, that wherever the Sab- 
bath, both for man, beast, and the soil, has been observed 
in religious purity, the land and the people have been 
rendered prosperous in the highest degree ; and that, 
wherever it has not been observed, the land has sunk into 
barrenness and the people relapsed into semi-barbarism. 
The brief experience of our own country has already suf- 
ficed to demonstrate this unerring law. 

God has thus not only directed man in the true way to 
domestic happiness, health, and prosperity, individual as 
well as national, as based upon the cultivation of the earth; 
but he has also anticipated the future multifarious wants 
of the human family, by providing underneath the plow- 
share, seams of fossil coal, of mineral ores, and earthy 
substances for building and the useful arts, besides gems 
and jewels, and elevating them in advance, by volcanic 
agency, so as to render them conveniently accessible. 
While there sometimes seems to be a confusion and un- 
necessary complication in the stratification of the earth, a 
benevolent design may be thus observed in the plan — the 
wise forethought and provision of a good father for his 
dependent and erring children. For, it is hardly worth 
while to suggest, had these varied mineral substances 
been suffered to remain in the horizontal position in 
which they were originally deposited, nothing is more 
certain than that they could not have been available to 
man, and that the surface would not have presented that 
diversity of valley and mountain which now distinguishes 
the greater portion of it, and effects the most essential 
benefits in the diversification of the atmosphere. Where- 
fore, exclaims Milton, with more than poetic inspiration : 



4Y8 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

"Wherefore hath Nature poured her bounties forth 
With such a full and un with drawing hand; 
Covering the earth with odors, fruits, and flocks — 
Thronging the seas with spawn innumerable, 
But all to please, and sate the curious taste, 
And give unbounded pleasure unto man ?" 

Every portion of the globe is thus supplied with some 
peculiar mineral, agricultural, commercial, or industrial 
resource, and he must be blind indeed that cannot see in 
the arrangement, not only a geological order, but a geogra- 
phical distribution well calculated to enable man, agree- 
ably to the divine command, to subdue and replenish the 
earth, and to exercise his humane dominion over all its 
creatures. The whole fraternity of man and creation is 
thus drawn together in a common chain of union — 

" We are but parts of one stupendous whole. 
Whose body Nature is, and God the soul. 
All Nature is but art, unknown to thee ; 
All chance, direction, which thou can'st not see ; 
All discord, harmony, not understood ; 
All partial evil, universal good." 

But there is, in the whole creation of the earth, not 
only a pre-arranged order of Nature in the distinct and 
successive cosmogonal eras, as we have attempted to 
show ; but there is a continuous development, from first 
to last. Organic forms and structure invariably proceed 
according to fixed laws of proportion and number. Had 
there, indeed, been no law of progression, the work of 
creation would have been stationary, without power of 
change or of recuperation. Without progression, the 
work of six eras might have been confined to one — to a 
day — an hour — a minute. But it happens that the same 
principle of progression which impels forward the human 
family, also impels, though in a modified degree, every 
other species of organic life. Herein man resembles 



THE HARMONY OP NATURE. 419 

his Maker, whose works continually attract him coward 
and upward. Hence it is that the beautiful in the arts of 
design, in sculpture, architecture, painting, mechanics, and 
the law of mathematics, is only attainable according to the 
preexisting models of Nature. The mind of man, in other 
words, is directed by the works of God, and in following 
and fathoming those works, he merely imitates his Creator, 
and becomes God-like as he improves upon their teachings 
and purposes. The elaborately-carved frieze or cornice 
that we so much admire in the capitals of ancient art, are 
mere copies of the sculptured and ornate shells of the 
still more ancient Ammonites and Trilobites, who erected 
their marble palaces in the bottoms of primitive seas. 
The scars and ribs of the Sigillaria, the oval canopy and 
pendant tassels of the Lepidodendria, the stellar net-work 
and rounded dots of the Stigmaria — all these, in their in- 
numerable varieties, form figures which the printers of 
calico and paper-hangings may imitate, but not surpass. 
Even the speaking marbles of Phidias ; the eloquence of 
Demosthenes ; the graceful figures and gorgeous coloring 
of Raphael ; the poetic anthems of Milton ; the dramatic 
worldlings of Sh^kspeare ; the mathematical demonstra- 
tions of Newton ; the great laws of Copernicus, Kepler, 
and Leverrier; — what, in fact, are all these but reflected 
msions or harmonies of Nature — reflected on minds 
which, like the prints of the sun upon the daguerreotype, 
were sufficiently transparent to retain them. What is 
thought but the reflected or embodied idea which God has 
imprinted on Nature I 

Our senses thus detect beauty of foi'm and structure, 
of curved line and coloring mixture, in all the shells of the 
sea, and in all the trees, flowers, and fruits of the land. 
There is beauty everywhere ! — Jiothing but beauty and 
harmony. The papered walls of our houses, the figured 
carpets we sometimes /ear to tread upon, the printed de- 
31 



480 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

laines and rustling silks so gracefully expanded around 
the human form divine — these are only tolerable imita- 
tions of things and pictures which the Almighty sketched 
mil-ions of years ago. Even the delicately-wrought laces 
of the ladies — the Chantilly and Honiton fabrics which 
it affords husbands so much pleasure to buy at ten or jBfty 
dollars per yard ; why, really, these are little more than 
the gossamer webs of the spider, and it would be difficult 
to tell which of them catches the largest number of flutter- 
ing victims ! St. Peter's has a laige dome ; but who can 
paint one like that visible over our heads on a starlight 
night, or during the meridian of the sun, or when he sinks 
down beyond the western hills to take a peep at the in- 
habitants of the antipodes ? Our minds are God-like be- 
cause we can admire God's works. Sometimes Nature 
teaches us what we have the effrontery to regard as 07'ig- 
inal designs ; but experience always proves that God has 
preceded us. There is, in fact, no such thing as origin- 
ality in man. Even sin, in which he excels, is not original 
with him ! In the arts of government, in domestic thrift, 
industry, and order, the " little busy bee" gives us signi- 
ficant lessons. What nation, or statesman, or philosopher, 
from Lycurgus to Buchanan, has laid down a nicer scheme 
of governmental order and decorum than that which they 
illustrate in their little pendant worlds of woven paper. 

" They Lave a King, and officers of sorts, 
Where some, like Magistrates, correct at home ; 
Others, like Merchants, venture trade abroad; 
Others, like Soldiers, armed in their stings. 
Make boot upon the summer's velvet buds, 
Which pillage, they, with merry march, bring home 
To the tent-royal of their Emperor, 
Who, busied in his tent, surveys 
The singing Mason, building roofs of gold; 
The Civil Citizens kneading up the honey; 
The poor, mechanic Porters crowding in 
Their heavy burdens at his narrow gate ; 



THE HAKMONY OF NATURE. 481 

The sad-eyed Justice, with his surly hum, 
Delivering o'er to executors pale, 
The lazy, yawning Drone." 

St Pierre observed, and with truth, that the " importance which we 
assign to our talents, proceeds not from their utility, but from our pride. 
We should take a material step toward its humiliation did we consider 
that the animals which have no skill in agriculture, and know not the use 
of fire, attain to the greatest part of the objects of our arts and sciences, 
and even surpass them. I will say nothing here of those which build, 
which spin, manufacture paper, and cloth, and practice a multitude of 
other trades, of which we do not so much as know. The Torpedo de- 
fended himself from his enemies by means of the electric shock, before 
Academies thought of making experiments in electricity; and the Limpet 
understood the power of the pressure of the air, and attached itself to the 
rocks by forming the vacuum with its pyramidal shell, long before the 
air-pump was set in motion. The Quails which annually take their de- 
parture from Europe, on their way to Africa, have such a perfect know- 
ledge of the autumnal equinox, that the day of their arrival in Malta, 
where they rest for twenty -four hours, is marked on the almanacs of the 
Island, about the 22d of September, and varies every year as the equinox 
itself. The Swan and Wild Duck have an accurate knowledge of the lati- 
tude where they ought to stop, when every year they reascend in spring 
to the extremities of the North, and can find out, without the help of 
compass or octant, the spot where the year before they made their nests. 
The Frigate, which flies from East to West, between the tropics, over vast 
oceans interrupted by no land, and which regains at night, at the distance 
of many hundred leagues, the very rock, hardly emerging out of the water, 
which he left in the morning, possesses means of ascertaining his longi- 
tude hitherto unknown to our most ingenious astronomers."* 

The wisdom with which JS'ature has settled the propor- 
tions and functions of animals is not less worthy of ad- 
miration. On a careful examination, we shall find no one 
deficient in its members, regard being had to its manners, 
and the situation in which it is destined to live. This 
fact is singularly illustrated in the fossil remains of animals 
— every formation having produced species peculiarly 

* Studies of Nature, from the French of J. H. B. De St. Pierre; London, 
1798. 



482 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

adapted to the circumstances then existing for their ac- 
commodation — as the condition of the climate, the degree 
of warmth, the purity of the water, its vegetable, calcar- 
eous, or sedimentary qualities, and the differences in the 
plants and trees, and many other similar features — all of 
which continually varied the habits, instincts, functions^ 
and movements of marine and terrestrial animals. Thus, 
the large and long bill of the Toucan, and his tongue 
" formed like a feather, were necessary to a bird who hunts* 
for insects, scattered about over the humid sands of the 
American shores. It was needful that he should be pro- 
vided at once with a long mattock, wherewith to dig, 
with a large spoon to collect his food, and a tongue 
fringed with delicate nerves, to enjoy the rich relish of it. 
Long legs and a long neck were necessary to the Heron, 
to the Crane, to the Flamingo, and other birds which 
have to walk in marsh}^ places, and to seek their prey 
under the water. Nature has also infinitely varied the 
means of defense, as well as of subsistence. The tardiness 
of the Sloth is no more a paralytic affection than that of 
the Turtle and the Snail. The cries which he utters when 
you go near him, are not those of pain. But, some being- 
destined to roam over the earth, others to remain fixed on 
a particular post, their means of defense are varied with 
their manners. Some elude their enemies by flight ; 
others repel them by hissings, by hideous figures, by 
poisonous smells, or lamentable cries. There are some 
which deceive the eye, such as the Snail, which assumes 
the color of the walls, or of the bark of trees, to which he 
flees for refuge; others, by a magic altogether incon- 
ceivable, transform themselves at pleasure into the color 
of surrounding objects, as the Chameleon. 

" Oh ! how sterile is the imagination of man, compared 
to the intelligence of Nature ! Genius itself, — about which 
such a noise is made, — this creative genius, which our 



MAN INSTRUCTED BY ANIMALS. 483 

wits fondly imagine they brought into the world with 
them, and have brought to perfection in learned circles, 
or by the assistance of books, is neither less nor more 
than the art of observing. Man cannot forsake the path 
of Nature, even when lie is determined to go wrong ; we 
are wise only with her wisdom, and we play the fool only 
in proportion as we attempt to derange her plans. "* 

Pope, inferring the instruction of man from the instinct 
of the lower animals, whereby he has improved the arts 
of industry, exclaims ; 

" See him from Nature rising slow to Art, 
To copy Instinct then was Reason's part. 
Thus then to man the voice of Nature spake — 
" Go, from the creatures thy instructions take : 
Learn from the birds what food the thickets yield j 
Learn from the beasts the physic of the field ; 
Thy arts of building from the bee receive ; 
Learn of the mole to plow, the worm to weave ; 
Learn of the little Nautilus to sail, 
Spread the thin oar, and catch the driving gale. 
Here, too, all forms of social union find, 
And hence let Reason, late, instruct mankind. 
Here subterranean works and cities see; 
There towns aerial on the waving tree ; 
Learn each small people's genius, policies. 
The ant's republic and the realm of bees. 
How those in common all their wealth bestow, 
And anarchy, without confusion, know; 
And these forever, though a monarch reign. 
Their separate cells and properties maintain. 
Mark what unvaried laws preserve each state ; 
Laws wise as Nature, and as fixed as fate. 
In vain thy Reason finer webs shall draw, 
Entangle justice in her net of law. 
And right, too rigid, harden into wrong. 
Still for the strong too weak, the weak too strong. 
Yet go ! and thus o'er all the creatures sway. 
Thus let the wiser make the rest obey ; 

• Studies of Nature, from the French of J. H. B. De St. Pierre ; London, 
1798. 



484 THE SEVENTH DAY — THE SABBATH. 

And for those arts mere instinct could afford. 
Be crowned as monarchs, or as gods adored!'' 



Lessons of wisdom, of invention, of patient industry, 
and social decorum can thus be learned from every species 
of created being, and even from the insects and half vege- 
table zoophytes and coral reefs ; but more especially from 
the domestic animals, many of Avhom are doomed to 
drudge their brief lives away in the service of ungrateful 
and unappreciating man. How faithfully the horse plows ; 
how intelligently he draws the wagon or the carriage : 
how noble is his amble under the rein of his rider — shar- 
ing with him " all the pleasure and the pride I" If his 
mission on earth is that of serving man, who will say that 
it is not well performed ? And what is his reward ? Is 
it to be presumed that animals so elevated in the scale of 
intelligence and usefulness, shall have no future rest — no 
Sabbath from the lashes, and neglect, and hard tasks of 
man ? Heaven forbid ! The hard tasks and cruelties 
which a Christian people inflict on these devoted animals, 
might at least be compensated so far as to concede, accord- 
ing to the spirit of our religion, that the same benevolence 
which provides for our future happiness, vrill not deal un- 
kindly with the poor brutes. But what a contrast does 
the treatment of these creatures in civilized countries 
afford to that of the Arabs ! They never beat their 
horses ; they manage them by means of kindness and 
caresses, and render them so docile, that there are no 
animals of the kind in the world to be compared with 
them in beauty and in goodness. They do not fix them 
to a stake in the fields, but suffer them to pasture at 
large around their habitation, to which they come running 
the moment that they hear the sound of the master's 
voice. Those tractable animals resort at night to their 
tents, and lie down in the midst of the children, without 



THE ARABIAN HORSE. 485 

ever hurting them in the slightest degree. If the rider 
happens to fall while coursing, his horse stands still in- 
stantly, and never stirs till he has mounted again. These 
animals are the first coursers of the universe. " It is re- 
lated hy D^Hervieux, in his "Journey to Mount Lebanon," 
that the French consul at Said offered to purchase a most 
beautiful mare, which comprised the whole stock of a poor 
Arabian of the desert, with the intention of sending her 
to his sovereign, Louis the Fourteenth. The poor Arab, 
pressed by want, hesitated a long time, but at length con- 
sented, on condition of receiving a very considerable sum, 
and which the king authorized him to advance. The 
consul sent notice to the Arab, who soon after made his 
appearance, mounted on his magnificent courser, and the 
gold which he had demanded was paid down to him. 
The Arab, covered with a miserable rug, dismounts, looks 
at the money, then, turning his eyes to the mare, he sighs, 
and thus accosts her : ' To whom am I going to yield 
thee up ? To Europeans, who will tie thee close, who 
will beat thee, who will render thee miserable I Return 
with me, my beauty ! my darling I my jewel ! and rejoice 
the hearts of my children. ' And as he pronounced these 
words, he sprung upon her back, and scampered off 
toward the desert. "* Even the 

" Poor Indian, whose untutored mind 

Sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wind, — 
Yet thinks, admitted to that equal sky, 
His faithful dog will bear him company !" 

But while lessons of profit and benevolence may often 
be learned from the various species of animal life, a 
scrutiny of the habits and instincts of others, also reveals 
much to deplore and condemn. For, like vain, tyrannical 

* St. Pierre, Studies of Nature. 



486 THE SEVENTH DAY— THE SABBATH. ^ 

man, tKey too have their assassins, their robbers, and 
their imperious masters ; — their Shylocks, and Peter 
Funks, and Mawworms, as well as their ambitious Caesars 
and Napoleons I It is perhaps a sad reflection ; but we 
know ver J well that there are villains lying in their native 
jungles, watching their inoffensive prey with glaring eyes 
and blood-thirsty jaws. There are villains soaring in the 
air, ready to pounce, with the stealthy cunning of Rey- 
nard, upon the bleating fold or the unsuspecting poultry. 
There are villains rioting in their sculptured and painted 
shells — dissipating in drunken frolics, or stalking forth 
with drawn swords, or keen-edged dagger, far down in 
the "dark unfathomed caves of ocean." The powerful 
everywhere persecute, pillage, and prey upon the weak. 
Whole communities of human fish, human fowl, and 
human quadrupeds, wage eternal, bloody, and exterminat- 
ing wars upon each other ! 

Now, as the mind of man may properly be regarded as 
the combined and concentrated intelligences of all the 
different animal species, crowned with God-like Reason, 
his observation alone should lead him to just discrimina- 
tions — teaching him what to avoid and what to follow — 
what to do, and what to leave undone. God has sur- 
rounded him, on every hand, with admonitions and 
guides ; and has -given him such intellectual powers as, 
justly exercised, not only enable him to maintain his 
dominion over all the animals, but to approach nearer and 
nearer to the character of angels. 

" These are thy glorious works, Parent of good, 
Almighty, thine this universal frame, 
Thus wondrous fair ; thyself how wondrous then ! 
Unspeakable, who sitt'st above these heavens, 
To us invisible, or dimly seen 
In these thy lowest works ; yet these declare 
Thy goodness beyond thought, and power divine. 



CONCLUSION 481 

Speak ye who best can tell, ye sons of light, 

Angels, for ye behold him, and with songs 

And choral symphonies, day without night. 

Circle his throne rejoicing; ye in heaven, 

On earth join all ye creatures to extol 

Him first, him last, him midst, and without end I'- 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 



(For a Breviary of the Argumeiit of the several days, see page 4.) 



Adam and Eve, marriage of, 355. 

Adam and Eve, fall and puuishment of, 
367. 

Adam, sons and daughters of, 372. 

Agassiz, remarks of, 259, 316. 

African, Ethiopian or Negro race, 3.52. 

Air, weight of, 200. 

Antelope, .311— Apes, 347— Ants, 233. 

Animals, law of succession, or alterna- 
tion of species, 465. 

Animals, number of species now living, 
378. 

Animals, how arranged in Noah's Ark, 
383. 

Animals inhabiting vegetablejuices, 420. 

Animals, relations of the living to ex- 
tinct species considered, 428. 

Animals, extinct species of South Amer- 
ica, 4.34. 

Animals, fallacious assumptions of geol- 
ogists in reference to, 422. 

Animal remains, absence of in the coal 
measures, 108. 

Animals, classification of, Zoologists, 209. 

Animal life introduced after vegetable 
life, 242, 

Animals of the New Red Sandstone era, 
243. 

Animal life first appearing in the seas on 
the fifth day, 205. 

Animals in Noah's Ark — were they 
young or old ? 381. 

America, discovery of in the nintb cen- 
tury by the Northmen, 476. 

America, colonies planted in Massachu- 
setts and New York by the Icelanders, 
447. 

Ancient inhabitants of America, 448. 

Ancient modes of writing — the cursive 
and the cuneiform, 452. 

Animated Nature, birth of, 44. 

Ancient vegetation, transmission of the 
seeds of, 117. 

Alleghany mountains, origin of the, 67, 
174. 

Auimalcales inherent in water, 213. 

America geologically the old world, 65. 

Authracite coal basins described, 130. 

Anthracite derived from bituminous 
coal, theories proposed, 161. 

Ante-mundane phenomena, impossibil- 
ity of man to explore, 15. 



Ark of Noah, how constructed, 374, 380, 
3S.3. 

Ark of Noah, compared with the Great 
Eastern, 375. 

Ark of Noah, proofs that it was filled 
with young, and not adult animals, 
.381. 

Asphalt of New Brunswick, 139. 

Aqueous origin of the earth, theory of, 
42. 

Attraction of the sun, law of, 184. 

Artesian wells, 390. 

Articulate division of the animal king- 
dom, 228. 

Art, works of the ancient Egyptians con- 
sidered, 461. 

Arabs, their treatment and love of 
horses, 485. 

Astronomy, theories, speculations, dis- 
coveries, and laws of Hipparchns, 
Ptolemy, Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, 
Galileo, Newton, Herschell, Leverrier, 
etc., 176. 

Astronomical observations and calcula- 
tions, value of, 28. 

Astronomy, progress of discovery in the 
Seventeenth century, remarks of Barou 
Humboldt, 187. 

Asiatic derivation of the ancient or orig- 
inal inhabitants of America, 451. 

Athens founded by Cecrops of Egypt, 454, 

Asphalt, 106 — Amber, origin of, 158. 

Atmosphere of the coal period, 172, 175, 
193, 196. 

Atmosphere, extraordinary effects pro- 
duced by the, 190. 

Atmosphere, wonders of the, 196. 

Atmosphere and the ocean, currents and 
climates of the, 188. 

Atmo.«phere, power of the, compared 
with the steam-engine, 190. 

Avalanches, efiects of, 495. 

Bald Eagle, Dr. Franklin's opinion of 

the, 340. 
Basis, the, of Christianity, 369. 
Behring's Straits, former union of the 

two continents at, 4.i] . 
Breccia or Mosaic marble, 241. 
Botanical classification, sy.stems of Gess- 

ner, Jussieu, Tournefort, Linnaeus, 

etc., 78. 



(489) 



490 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 



Bears, Buffaloes, Bisous, Beavers, etc., 
313. 

Bone-cells of different animals, 272. 

Bible, truths of the, manifest with in- 
creased knowledge of natural law, 22, 
202, 27.S. 

Bible, gratuitous apologies for the, re- 
buked, 30.5. 

Bible versus Geology, testimony of the 
witnesses in this case, 2-51. 

Boulders, erratic, how distributed, 394. 

Bituminous coal, how converted into 
anthracite, 160. 

Bituminous shale in WLsconsin, 139. 

Brown coal or lignite, nature and origin 
of, 158. 

Bird tracks in New Eed Sandstone, 268. 

Bird tracks classified by Prof. Hitch- 
cock, 270. 

Brandy from coal oil, 144. 

Byron, Lord, epitaph on his dog Boat- 
334. 



Coal basins, origin of, 64. 

Coal basins, extent and geographical 
distributions of, 254, 

Coal, fossil vegetation of the, described, 
80. 

Coal oil of Kentucky, 142. 

Coal oil whiskey, 144. 

Coal oil for fuel in Ocean steamers, 145. 

Coal oil, speculations in, 145. 

Coal oil, geographical extent of, 146, 147. 

Coal oil strata, description of, 147. 

Coal oil, how formed, 147-50. 

Coal oil vegetation, 149, 1.50, 151. 

Coal oil, production of, 152. 

Coal oil. Commercial value of, 1.52. 

Coal oil of the AUeghanies, 153. 

Coal, process of distillation from the 
ancient forests,' 124, 2S0. 

Coal measures, alternation of strata, 126. 

Coal, identity of origin of various min- 
eral combustibles, 132. 

Coal, chemical changes of, 154. 

Coal period, climate of the, 172, 175, 196, 
206, 251. 

Coal basins of Texas, Illinois, Missouri, 
Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ehode Island, 
Nova Scotia, etc., 6S. 

Coral animals, mechanical operations 
of, 212. 

Calorific sublimation of the ancient 
rocks, 42. 

Caves, the Mammoth of Kentucky, and 
others, 69. 

Coniferous trees, extinct and living, 110. 

Creation, original seat of, 414. 

Creative plan or design manifest in Na- 
ture, 35. 

Creative tableaux revealed to Moses as 
described in his Cosmogony, 38. 

Caqibrian system of rocks, character 
and distribution of, 60. 

Calendar of solar time, origin of, 18. 

Conglomerate and sandstone rocks, ori- 
gin of, 63. 



Copernicus not intimidated by priestly 
persecution, 181. 

Church, false views of Cosmogony for- 
merly held by the, 4.3, 167, 202. 

Cohesion of atums, 36. 

Cubit measure of Scripture, .376. 

Cuvier, Baron, on the animals of South 
America, 427. 

Crops of the farmer, necessity for their 
alternation, 472. 

Crystalline rocks the basis of the globe, 
46. 

Currents of the atmosphere, 188. 

Cosmogonal eras, days, or circles of 
time, 17, 24, 194, 206. 

Church, its eiTors external, not internal, 
22. 

Cretaceous and chalk strata, their char- 
acter and distribution, 284. 

Civet, 342— Camel, 313 — Cattle, domestic 
and wild, 312. 

Christ, his divinity, doctrines, acts, tri- 
umph over sin, etc., 369. 

Christian doubters rebuked, .373. 

Continents, submergence of, explained, 
408. 

Chiriqui, golden anaglyphs of, 441. 

Cypress trees, 114. 

Day, meaning of the word as used by 
Moses, 17, 20, 194, 206. 

Devonian system of rocks, 53. 

Devonian lakes and rivers, 70, 122. 

Distribution of coal beds, 72, 167. 

Dry land, emergence of from the primi- 
tive seas, 73. 

Deposition of coal seams, theories of 
geologists, and a new one proposed, 
93, 105, 125, 128. 

Distillation of tar, pitch, turpentine, 
oils, etc., 119, 121. 

Drop of water, animals inhabiting a, 214. 

Discovery of a Saurian What-is-it ? 256. 

Dinotherium, 309 — Dromedary, 293 — 
Deer, 311. 

Earth, origin of the, 13, 40. 

Earth, antiquity of the, proved, 16, 21, 25. 

Earth, original nebulosity and fluidity 

of the, 86, 41. 
Earth, rotundity of the, 43. 
Earth, supposed to be an animal by 

Kepler, 43. 
Earth, surface of the, a vast tar pit 

during the coal period, 124. 
Elks, 319— Elephants, 318. 
Evening or night, symbolically used by 

Moses, 18. 
European, American, and all other pine 

tree.s. 111. 
Ehrenberg, Prof., microscopic investiga- 
tions of, 213. 
Echiuodermatian animals described, 216, 

306. 
Error unlocking the door for Truth, 180. 
Egyptians, their probable knowledge 

and colonization of America, 462. 



ALPTTABETICAL INDEX. 



491 



Egyptians, their religions veneration 

for aniDial!*, io.'>. 
Egyptian supei'stitious, mythology and 

enterprise furnish a key by which to 

account for the distribution of Asiatic 

animals in America, 444. 
Ethiopian or Negro race, 352. 
Eden, garden of, 3.55, 363. 
Eve, seduced by sin, 364. 

First dav of Creation described by JMoses, 

13. . ' 
Firmament, origin of the, 43. 
Foetus of life in the metamorpliic era, o^, 

63. 
Fossil vegetation, character of, 71. 
Fossil plants, systems of classification, 

78. 
Fossils, what do they teach ? 91. 
Fos&il trees in coal veins, 96, 9S, 104, 107, 

128. 
Fossils, how accumulated over the coal 

veins, 126. 
Fossil remains of coral, molluscan, and 

other mariue animals, 212. 
Fossil Radiata and Mollusca, table of 

species of the, in each geological for- 
mation, 214. 
Fossils of the chalk and cretaceous strata, 

250. 
Fruits and fruit trees absent in the 

ancient strata, 108. 
Forests of the coal period, density and 

prolificacy of growth, 123. 
Fire-damp explosions in mines, 166. 
Fourth day of Creation described by 

Moses, 161— Fifth day, 209. 
Fogs and vapors of the ancient climate. 

171. 
Foramenifera, works of the, 215. 
Footprints of extinct animals, 243. 
Fowls of the air introduced on the fifth 

day, 209. 
Fishfcs of the Tertiary, and their classifi- 
cation, 296 — the Gauoid, Cycloid, Pla- 

coid, and Ctenoid orders, 299. 
Flood of Noah, how produced, and its 

universality proved, 372. 
Fountains of the great deep, how broken 

up, 389. 

God's spirit moving the nascent seas, .39. 

Granite rocks, group of the, 42. 

Granite, geographical distrilmtion over 
the earth, 47. 

Geological classification of rocks, (and 
nomenclature,) 51. 

Geological survey of Pennsylvania, 
scieutilic trash, 54, 259. 

Geological agencies of the coal period, 68. 

Geological formations or eras have dis- 
tinct orders of vegetation — a new 
theory, 116. 

Geological writers, errors of, and how 
spread abroad, 163. 

Geographical knowledge and commer- 
cial enterprise of the ancient races of 
man, 4.59. 



Galileo, astronomical laws, and discov- 
eries of, 182, 1S4. 

Gravitation, law of, discovered by New- 
ton, 184. ^ 

Gulf stream, remarkable features of, 
described, 189. 

Grecian cosmogony contrasted with that 
of Moses, 43. 

Gulfof the (Devonian) Atlantic, formerly 
located in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, 
etc., 70. 

Gasteropoda, animals of the family of, 
219. 

Glyptodon, the, described, 321. 

Garden of Eden, description of the, 35.^, 
363. 

Giants of the antediluvian period, 376. 

Glaciers, monutain and polar, 391, 396. 

Gospel, ministers of the, 358. 

Geological pretenders, 412. 

Generation of animalcules and iusecte, 
421. 

Historv of the earth written in its fos- 
sils, 93. 

Hippai-chus, astronomical theories of, 
177. 

Humboldt, Baron von, remarks of, on 
various topics, 179, 18S, 448. 

Humboldt on the unity of tne human 
species, 464. 

Humboldt glacier, described by Kane, 
398. 

Hor.se, the family of, 319. 

Halley's comet, 28. 

Hitchcock, Professor, on bird tracks, 255. 

Herschell, Sir John, telescopic observa- 
tions of, 29. 

Infidelity, efi"orts to ally itself with the 
natural sciences, 23. 

Important errors corrected as to the 
origin and phenomena of coal, 104. 

Infusorial animals described, 213. 

Insects, living and fossil, 229. 

Intermediate planetary distance, law of, 
33. 

Ichthyosaurus, 264 — Iguanodon, 281 — 
Ichneumon, 243. 

Insects, Cuvier's twelve orders of, 240. 

Indian, the North American, race of, de- 
scribed, 374. 

Immaculate Conception, theory and ob- 
ject of, 369. 

Icebergs, geological influences of, 393. 

Insects, how provided for in Noah's Ark, 
419, 4.34. 

Insect fecundation, extx'aordinary pecu- 
liarities of, 421. 

Indians of Central America, whence de- 
rived, 441. 

Jefferson, Thomas, opinions of, 4.36. 
Junipp^r, and other allied trees, 115. 

Known and the unknown, 35. 
Kane, Dr., explorations of the Arctic re- 
gions, 395. 



492 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 



Key to aulock the mysteries of American 
antiquities, 4jo. 

Kepler, astronomical laws and discov- 
eries of, 179. 

Knowledge of the universe expanding, 
182. 

Kangaroo, the, 307. 

King, Dr., discovery of suppcsed foot- 
prints in the coal measures of Penn- 
sylvania, 24.5. 

Light, diffusion of, in space, 27, 34. 

Light, inherent in nebulous bodies or 
aggi-egations, 39. 

Laud, dry, emergence of the, from the 
nascent waters, 49. 

Land or air-breathing animals, their ex- 
istence previous to the fifth day de- 
nied, 244. 

Lake Superior, iron and copper of, 57. 

Laud surface of the Devonian era, 65. 

Lepidodendria, fossils of, S3. 

Lesquereux, Mr., remarks of, 89. 

Larch, the, and other similar trees, 103. 

Lignite or brown coal, how formed, 15S. 

Light of the suu, effects of on the earth, 
air, and sea, 188. 

Limestone, Magnesian, 241. 

Leverrier, discovery of the planet Nep- 
tune, 29. 

Lakes — descriptions of Superior, Huron, 
Michigan, St. Clair, Erie, Ontario, etc., 
69, 122, 132. 

Law of planetary movement, ISO. 

Law of universal gravitation described, 
185. 

Lyell, Sir Charles, remarks on foot- 
prints, rain-drops, sun-cracks, ripples, 
etc., 24.9, 2.50, 271, 277. 

Lyell, Sir Charles, on the submergence 
of continents, 408. 

Lyell, Sir Charles, on the extinct ani- 
mals of South America, etc., 434. 

Lee, Isaac, description of supposed ani- 
mal foot-prints in the sandstone of 
Mount Carbon, 246. 

Lee, Isaac, answer to the foregoing, 2-52. 

Limestone, origin of beds of, 2S3. 

Lubricating oil, 144. 

Man, the last effort of the Creator, 3-54. 

Man receiving lessons from the inferior 
animals, 480. 

Man, duty of, to investigate Nature, 16. 

Man, first appearance on the stage, 344. 

Man, different groups of, 352. 

Man, his relation to the Creator, 394. 

Man, ancient and modern races com- 
pared, 459. 

Man, animals and machinery, necessity 
of alternate Sabbaths of rest, 470. 

Man's mind, wherein it becomes God- 
like, 479. 

Man and animals, tribes and nations, 
alternating with each other, 465. 

Man, the servant of God, 16, 354. 

Mongolian race, the, 353. 

Moraines, how formed, 394. 



Mountains, elevations of, explained, 410. 
Mastodon, Megatherium, Glyptodon, 

etc., antiquity of, 436, 467. 
Mounds of the West described, 438. 
Moeris, lake of, in Ancient Egypt, 462. 
Monkeys, family of, 349. 
Milky Way, grandeur and extent of the, 

28. 
Morphology, or law of forms, 82. 
Milton's First Day, 40— Second day, 49 

—Third Day, 158- Fourth Day, 207— 

Fifth Day, 254— Sixth day, 356. 
Moses in advance of scientific discovery, 

45, 199. 
Metamorphic rocks, 49, .56, 71, 239. 
Miller, Hugh, writings and erroneous 

theories of, 63, 301, 406, 413, 417, 424, 

427, 
Metamorphic coal of Rhode Island and 

Scandinavia, 76. 
Microscopic examinations of coal, 164. 
Mountains, upheaval of on fourth day, 

effects produced on the climate, 173, 

175. 
Mary, the mother of Christ, 369. 
Moses and the old system of astronomy, 

177. 
Maury, Lieut., on the geography of the 

sea, 189. 
Microscope, revelations and wonders of 

the, 213. 
MoUuscan animals described, 217. 
MoUuscan fossils, number of species in 

each geological formation, 223. 
MoUusca, number of surviving species, 

224. 
Mosaic days or eras, correspondence with 

geological formations, 24. 
Mosaic ideal tableaux consistent with 

physical law, 38, 
Miracles of Nature, 418. 
Mississippi river, floods and peculiarities 

of the, 129. 
Marine animals described, fossil and 

living, 209. 
Mutual Admiration Society, how it 

works, 270. 
Mammalian division of animals de- 
scribed, 306. 
Microlestes, fossil remains of, 244. 

Noah's Ark, was it occupied with young 

or old animals ? 381. 
Nature, teachings of, 23. 
Nebular hypothesis of the origin of 

worlds, 30. 
Nebular theory indicated by Moses, 38. 
Niagara Falls, geological description of, 

60. 
Niagara Falls, discovery, retrogression, 

and antiquity of, 61. 
Norfolk Island, and other pines, 115. 
Newton, Sir Isaac, discoveries of, 184. 
New red sandstone described, 241. 
New red sandstone, animals of the, 243. 
Neptune, discovery of by Leverrier, 29, 
Nature, mysteries of, 418. 
Noah's Ark, description of, 381. 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 



493 



Noah's Ark as compared with the Great 

Eastern, 380. 
Northraea, their discovery of America 

before Columbus, 447. 
Noah, dispersion of his family after the 

flood, 454. 
Nature, study of, by St. Pierre, 481. 
Nature, harmony of, 476. 
Nations, origin of, 458. 

Oracles and Seers, their influence In 

Greece, 38. 
Organic life, beginning of, on the earth, 

51. 
Ocean, wondex's of the, 196. 
Ocean, saltness of the, 416, 192. 
Ocean navigation, value of astronomy 

to, 29. 
Old red sandstone described, 55. 
Ocean, rivers, currents, and climates of 

the, 188. 
Ocean currents, how produced, 191. 
Oil springs of Trinidad, 133. 
Oil springs of Cuba, 134. 
Oil springs in Venezuela, 136. 
Oil springs in New Grenada, 136. 
Oil springs in Mexico, 137. 
Oil lake in Texas, 137. 
Oil springs in Kansas, 139. 
Oil of Pennsylvania, 140. 
Oil springs of Virginia, 141. 
Oolitic rocks, descriptioo of the, 278. 
Ox or cattle, 312— Ounce, 329 — Ouran- 

outang, 324— Otter, 345. 
Ouran-outang, supposed resemblance to 

man disproved, 346. 
Origin of worlds, 30. 

Progressive creation, but not develop- 
ment, 25. 

Planets, distance from the sun, 26. 

Plauets, revolutions of the, 32. 

Planets, density of the, 33. 

Plutonic or igneous rocks, origin of the, 
42. 

Plutonic rocks, family of, described, 46, 

Paleozoic formation, 53, 56. 

Pilot knob iron, origin of, 58. 

Primitive rocks of the Eastern States, 77. 

Peat-bog theory of the deposition of coal, 
93. 

Pine trees, 109— Pitch pine, 112, and 
various other pines. 

Pitch lake of Trinidad, 133. 

Paleozoic formation, vegetable character 
of, 166. 

J'tolcmy, astronomical theories of, 177. 

I'.HUl ex'plainiug revelation, 200, 201. 

r..etry of the Bible, 203, 204, 205. 

P.dyparia, description of, 212. 

Promulgators of the Divine Word, har- 
mony among the, 20. 

Planets move in one direction only, 31. 

Pitch, rosin, oil, and tar, intimate rela- 
tion to coal, 133. 

Pleiades, mysteries of the, 203. 

Professional iealousv, a case in point. 
259. 



Pickwick Controversy, the, 261. 

Plesiosaurus, 267— Pterodactyle, 267. 

Progressive development disproved, 273, 
298, 301 . 

Pelasgian inhabitants of the Mediterra- 
nean, character of, 453. 

Petroleum in Oregon, 138. 

Pyramids of Egypt and of Central Amer- 
ica, 460. 

Pelasgic-Egyptian.s, did they plant colo- 
nies in America ? 462. 

Religion and Science, want of harmony 
between, 22, 24, 25. 

Rain-drops, sun -cracks, etc., in ancient 
rocks, disproved, 71, 245, 248, 2.50. 

Radiata division of animals described, 
209. 

Radiata, fossil, exhibiting number of 
species in each formation, 223. 

Reptiles, remains of, 243, 244. 

Rocks, how polished and grooved by- 
icebergs, 394. 

Rocky Mountains, the, 65. 

Rhode Island coal basin, extraordinary 
geological features of, 74. 

Radiated heat of the earth during the 
coal period, 124. 

Rubbish, detritus, and fragments of the 
coal forests, how disposed of, 127. 

Railway cross-ties, how preserved, 160. 

Rain, absence of. during the coal period, 
195. 

Ripple-marks, sun-cracks, etc., ex- 
plained, 253. 

Reindeer, 311 — Rhinoceros, 317 — Rats, 
323— Raccoon, 340— Ratel, 341. 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, on Noah's Ark, 377. 

River freshets, effects of, 404. 

Rome, geological character of the " seven 
hills of,^' 433. 

Space, immensity of, 56. 

Sun, the centre of the planetax-y svstem, 
31, 180. 

Sun, the source and parent of worlds, 32. 

Second day described by Moses, 40. 

Silurian rocks, geographical distribution 
of, 59, 75. 

St. Clair Fiats, origin of the, 62. 

Sigillaria, fossils of the, in coal, 88. 

Sigillaria and Stigmaria, their identity 
disproved, 91. 

Spruce, silver firs, and other trees, 113. 

Sun, -stars, and moon introduced on 
fourth day, 59, 177. 

Sun introduced on the fourth day, eifect 
on climate, 194. 

Salt of the sea, 192. 

Science of the Bible vindicated, 199, 203. 

Serpent, the, symbolical of sin and im- 
mortality, 366. 

Spongiaria', animals of the, 211. 

Spiders, family of, 228. 

Salt springs, 241. 

Solar days, impossibility of their exist- 
ence before the fourth day of Moses, 
18. 



494 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 



Stratification of the earth's crust, want 
of parallel order proof of its antiquity, 
24. 

Spontaneous fructification of the ancient 
grasses, 73. 

Sun and moon made to rule over the 
earth, 176, 195, 206. 

Seventeenth century, discoveries of, 182. 

Salt of the .sea, solid quantity held in 
solution, 192. 

Salt springs of the new red sandstone, 
242. 

Sauropus primsevis, description of foot- 
prints of the, 237. 

Silk-worms and silk manufactures, 231, 

Secondary formation, or fifth day, geo- 
graphical distribution over the earth, 
28.5. 

Sixth day or Tertiary, description of the, 
290. 

Sheep, 312— Squirrels, 323— Sloths, 320— 
Sable, 343. 

Satan, rebellion of, in heaven, 361. 

Seventh day, sanctified, 358, 459. 

Spontaneous life, theory of the, dis- 
proved, 421. 

Spontaneous life, experiment of Weeks 
and Crossi explained, 420. 

Stephens, travels in Central America, 
446. 

Sabbath, objects contemplated in the, 
469. 

Submergence of continents conceded by 
geologists, 408. 

Satan in the garden of Eden, 362. 

Sensational preachers, 359. 

Squiers, E. J., remarks of, on the Central 
American antiquities, 443. 

Thought and vision, limited range of, 
14, 

Third day of Moses, 49. 

Ti'ees, resinous gums and oilv secretions 
of, 114. 

Tar, how manufactured, 109. 

Third day, coocludiug review of, 1C7 , 

Telescope, discovery of the, 181. 

Tele.scope of Lord Rosse, 183. 

TroDical vegetation and forests, descrip- 
tion of, 12.3. 

Tent.iculifera, described, 222. 

Tumbliug ruoensineus, 256. 

Tertiary formation, de-scripiioii of, 290. 

Tertiary, animals of. described, .306. 

Trinitv, the, Father, Son, and Holy 
Ghost, 360. 



Universal gravitation, law of, 185. 

Universe, man peering into the mys- 
teries of the, 182. 

Unity of the human race, remarks of 
Humboldt, 464. 

Universality of the Noachian flood con- 
sidered, 373. 

Vision and thought, limited range of, 14. 

Vice flourishing in the domains of 
Christianity, 23. 

Volcanic rocks described, 46. 

Vegetation, diversity of accounted for, 
117. 

Vegetable origin of coal, 154. 

Vegetable structure of coal explained, 
164. 

Volcanic action on fourth day, effects 
of on climate, 172. 

Volcanic action at the close of the sixth 
day of Tertiary period, 400. 

Vegetable growth, and chemical phe- 
nomena of, 473. 

Vegetation, animals in the juices of, 237. 

Vegetable preceding animal life, 239. 

Volcanic Islands, emergence of, 46. 

Vegetable life, beginning of, 71. 

Vegetation of the Tertiary, 294. 

Volcanic action in the polar regions, 
efl"ects of, 401. 

Vegetation of America, antiquity of, 466 

Worlds within worlds, 37. 

Wood not converted into coal, 1.55, 156. 

Water of Alleghanies, distribution of, 
175. 

Worlds, origin of, 30. 

Worlds, original unity of, 36, 361. 

Worlds compound aggregates, united by 
afBuity, 37. 

World, the, too much controlled by 
.scientific flummery, 157. 

Weight or pressure of the atmosphere, 
199. 

Water.s, the, commanded to bring forth 
life uu llie Rfxh day. 209. 

World, the, how humbugged by its so- 
called science, 266, 274. 

Wpald Rucks dc^scription of, 280. 

Whitlos, 210 — absence of their fo.ssils iu 
tlie cretaceous rocks explained, 277, 
30.S. 

Whi.skey from coal oil, 144. 

Water, subterraneous rivers and lakes, 
410'. 

Zooloev, science and classification of, 
209. ' 



THF. END. 



DEC 6-1949 



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